Density estimation is influenced more by mass when objects are denser

Abstract

When judging the heaviness of objects, the perceptual estimate can be influenced by the object’s density next to its mass. In the present study, we investigated whether density estimates might be similarly affected by object mass. Participants lifted objects of different sizes and masses in a virtual reality environment and estimated the density. We found that density perception was influenced both by density and mass, but not for the lowest density value, which could be perceived correctly. A modelling procedure on fitted slopes through the different objects revealed that density contributed 56% to the density estimate. However, if low- and high-density values were modelled separately, contributions of 100% and 41% were found for the low and high densities, respectively. These results indicate that perception of heaviness and density are closely related but can be better distinguished with objects of lower density and mass.