Abstract
In this study on anchor effectiveness, the hypothesis that the locus of inflection points of adaptation level varies with chronological age was tested and confirmed. Altogether 62 Ss, divided into four age groups (4;8-12;11 years) had to judge either a 20- to 180-g weight series or a 200- to 400-g series, with anchor values ranging either from 95 to 1700 g or from 16 to 270 g, according to Helson’s standard experimental paradigm which was slightly modified with regard to children’s testing perceptual response. For children more than 7;0 years old, the anchor-AL trend follows a cubic trend, whereas for younger Ss a monotonic contrast effect trend was obtained. These results are interpreted in terms of cognitive rather than sensory contrast effects in psychophysics.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
FERGUSON, G. A. Nonparametric trend analysis. Montreal: McGill University Press, 1965.
GARNER, W. R., HAKE, H. W., & ERIKSEN, C. W. Operationism and the concept of perception. Psychological Review, 1956, 63, 149–159.
GILBERT, J. A. Researches on the mental and physical development of school-children. Studies from the Yale Psychological Laboratories, 1894, 2, 40–100.
HELSON, H. Adaptation-level theory. New York: Harper & Row, 1964.
HELSON, H., & MASTERS, H. G. A study of inflection-points in the locus of adaptation-levels as a function of anchor-stimuli. American Journal of Psychology, 1966, 79, 400–408.
LINDQUIST, E. F. Design and analysis of experiments in psychology and education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1953.
OLVER, R. R., & HORNSBY, J. R. On equivalence. In J. S. Bruner, R. R. Olver, and P. M. Greenfield (Eds.), Studies in cognitive growth. New York: Wiley, 1966. Pp. 68–85.
O’RIELLY, E., & STEGER, J. A. Children’s use of context in judgment of weight. Child Development, 1970, 41, 1095–1101.
PIAGET, J., & INHELDER, B., La genèse des structures logiques élémentaires: Classifications et sériations. Neuchâtel: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1959.
RAVEN, J. C. Coloured progressive matrices. Sets A, An, B. London: Lewis, 1956.
SARRIS, V. Adaptation-level theory: Two critical experiments on Helson’s weighted-average model. American Journal of Psychology, 1967, 80, 331–344.
SARRIS, V. Adaptation-level theory: Absolute or relative anchor effectiveness? Psychonomic Science, 1968, 13, 307–308.
SARRIS, V. Ankerreiz-Effekte bei Tonhohenbeurteilungen: Überprüfung von Helson’s Adaptationsniveau-Modell. In M. Irle (Ed.), Bericht über den 26. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie, Tübingen 1968. Göttingen: Hogrefe, 1969. Pp. 399–405.
SARRIS, V. Wahrnehmung und Urteil. Göttingen: Hogrefe, 1971.
SARRIS, V., & HAIDER, M. Average evoked potentials and the anchoring of pitch judgments. Psychonomic Science, 1970, 20, 113–115.
SARRIS, V., TEWS, B., & SCHÖNPFLUG, W. GSR and the anchoring of pitch judgments. Psychonomic Science, 1970, 20, 193–194.
WILKENING, F., SARRIS, V., & WILKENING, K. Context effects in the child’s perceptual judgment: A psychometric analysis. Child Development, in press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Based upon the first author’s M.A. (diploma) thesis at the University of Tübingen under the supervision of V. Sarris and O. Heller.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wilkening, F., Sarris, V. & Heller, O. Contrast effects in the child’s judgment of lifted weight. Psychon Sci 28, 207–208 (1972). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328711
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328711