A psychometric approach to intuitive physics

Abstract

The literature on intuitive physics shows that many people exhibit systematic errors when predicting the behavior of simple physical events. Most previous research has attributed these errors to factors specific to a certain class of tasks. In the present study, we investigated the possibility that intuitive physics performance may be related to general measures of cognitive ability. Two hundred four adults (ages, 20-91 years) were presented with five pairs of intuitive physics questions. It was found that performance on the intuitive physics items was moderately intercorrelated, suggesting that they were tapping into a unitary construct. Despite the correlation with factors that decline with advancing age, intuitive physics performance was not correlated with age (r ϭ .00). The findings are discussed in the context of research on intuitive physics, as well as research on cognitive aging.

Sufficiency of longitudinal moment of inertia for haptic cylinder length judgments.

“…Given the novelty of the task, and likely the physics-naivete of participants, adopting that rule is perhaps not so surprising. Riener, Proffitt, and Salthouse (2005) pointed out that errors in solving problems involving physical principles are persistent and reasonably consistent across a variety of ages, educational attainment, problem types, and specific training in physics. Furthermore, Withagen and van Wermeskerken (2009) recently pointed out that some participants in wielding tasks persistently use a nonspecifying relationship in making length judgments, even when given feedback about length estimate accuracy.…”

The interplay of game elements with psychometric qualities, learning, and enjoyment in game-based assessment

“…The Pearson's correlation coefficient between Form A and Form B was .76, and the Cronbach's alpha values for Forms A and B were .71 and .50, respectively. The test has four subscales that correspond to the four agents in PP (i.e., ramp, lever, pendulum, and springboard), and these subscales measure implicit understanding of underlying physics principles related to Newton's laws of motion, balance, mass, conservation of energy (potential and kinetic energy) and momentum, (Masson, Bub, & Lalonde, 2011;Riener, Proffitt, & Salthouse, 2005;Authors, 2013). All items require students to use qualitative reasoning about physical objects in their solutions, but do not focus on the explicit use of physics formulas or require formal physics knowledge.…”

Modeling how incoming knowledge, persistence, affective states, and in-game progress influence student learning from an educational game

“…We used a qualitative physics test consisting of 32 pictorial multiple choice items. Its purpose is to assess implicit knowledge of Newton's three laws, balance, mass, conservation and transfer of momentum, gravity, and potential and kinetic energy (see Masson, Bub, &Lalonde, 2011;Reiner, Proffit, &Salthouse, 2005). We split the qualitative physics test into two matched forms that were counterbalanced between pretest and posttest (Form A = 16 items; Form B = 16 items).…”