A person's ability to perceive the weight of an object is essential to many everyday activities. If something is lifted without taking its weight into account, there can be a serious risk of damage to the object, the lifter, or anything in their proximity. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics identifies overexertion injuries in manual handling tasks as one of the most common occupational injuries (26.5% of all nonfatal work injuries). In thinking about the importance of weight perception, it is useful to note that weight perception occurs both proactively and reactively. In other words, the perceived weight of an object will affect how it is handled, but it is equally true that the handling of an object will affect the perception of its weight. Current theories of weight perception do not adequately take into account its interactional basis.
With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Eric Amazeen will investigate the two-way nature of weight perception by studying how the act of lifting influences the perception of an object's weight. In his studies, participants will lift objects that vary in weight, size, and shape. The role of action will be evaluated by examining how weight perception varies as a function of the kinds of movements, grips, and load forces that are used in lifting various objects, in both individual and team lifting scenarios. Measures of weight perception will be analyzed using novel techniques that combine methods from both Psychology and Kinesiology. Both disciplines are highly relevant to weight perception, and their synergy promises to lead to signficant advances that would otherwise be difficult to achieve. These findings will advance theories of perception and action while at the same time providing information on how situations are identified in which dangerous illusions or errors of weight perception are likely to occur.
