Understanding perceptual processes: Responses to a weight-illusion task.

In two studies, children and adults were presented with a weight illusion based on perceptual adaptation or contrast effects, in which one of two containers of equal weights felt heavier than the other. Of major concern were developmental trends in the extent to which Ss erroneously maintained that the perceived difference represented a real difference, versus one in appearance, and the extent to which cues alerting Ss to past adaptationlike experiences would affect their understanding of the illusion. Results showed improved performance, with increases in age and the effectiveness of cuing about previous adaptation experiences, but only after the task was altered to highlight the relevance of the condition that produced the illusion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)