Weight

Discrimination

Alyssa Figueroa

Marissa Jacob

Kinesiology 4573

Hypotheses

The dominant hand group will have less number of

errors in their final mean score compared to the non-

dominant hand group

The non-dominant hand group will show a greater

improvement between their initial mean error score

and their final mean error score compared to the

dominant hand group

There will be no significant difference between the

final mean times for dominant hand group and non-

dominant hand group

What does the literature say? Field-dependence-independence as “sensitivity” of the nervous

system: supportive evidence with color and weight discrimination

Hypothesized that field-independent participants would perform significantly better than the field-dependent participants on a weight discrimination task

56 participants (soldiers)

- Either in field-independent or field-dependent group based on nervous system level of sensitivity

10 black discs varied in weight from 50-86 g

Participants were asked to arrange disks in order from lightest to heaviest

- 2 trials with dominant hand and 2 trials with non-dominant hand

Hypothesis was supported

*Both groups performed better with their dominant hand compared to their non-dominant hand

(Fine, 1973)

What does the literature say? Aberrant judgmental pattern of schizophrenic patients in weight

discrimination

32 participants (right handed)

- 16 chronic schizophrenics (11 female and 5 male)

- 16 normal controls (9 female and 7 male)

Weight discrimination task

Categorical conditions

- Heavier/lighter

- Heavier/lighter/equal

- Heavier/lighter/doubtful

Hand conditions

- Left, right, and bimanual

Standard weight placed in palm 2 s; comparison weight immediately placed in palm 2 s

- Cylindrical plastic weights ranging from 29-71 g for comparison weight and standard weight was 50 g

-Screen board prevented participants from seeing their palms and weights

Schizophrenics made more reversal errors than normal group in heavier/lighter condition

- Indicated sensory deficits of proprioceptive acuity in schizophrenics

No significant difference in the heavier/lighter/doubtful condition

Increased occurrence of equal judgments in schizophrenic group

-Might indicate deficit at the judgmental level and partly from a deficit at the sensory level

(Tanno, Shiihara, & Machiyama, 1999)

What does the literature say? Jiggling a lifted weight does aid discrimination

Fact:

- Ability to discriminate between weights is affected by the manner of obtaining

the stimuli

- Active lifting results in better discrimination than passive pressure

- Discrimination improves with the frequency of the lift and the stimulus

intensity and number of limb joints involved in the lift

Therefore, hypothesized that jiggling objects when estimating their weight

should aid discrimination

30 undergraduate students (17 male and 13 female)

Cylinders weighing from 50-64 g

Blind folded

Participants were asks to state whether the weight was heavier or lighter than the

standard 50 g weight

Hypothesis was correct; there was a significant difference

(Brodie & Ross, 1985)

Subjects Where did we get them:

- Friends and family

Characteristics:

- Must be female

- Must be 18-80 years of age

How many?

- 10 subjects in the Dominant Hand Group

- 10 subjects in the Non-Dominant Hand Group

- Total of 20 participants

How did you get them?

- We asked each participant if they would like to volunteer in our activity and once they gave consent we continued on to completing the task.

Research Personnel How many?

- Two (2)

Characteristics?

- Female

- College students

What do they have to do?

- Explain purpose and procedures of the test to the

participant.

- Shuffle the labeled containers before each trial

- Record the time and number of errors for each trial

Before the Experiment Research Personnel must:

o Location of Test:

- Brought study to the participant’s household since equipment is easily

transportable

o Equipment

- 20 identical containers (colored outside)

- 110 pennies

- Stop watch

- Paper and pen

- Marker (number containers on bottom)

Subjects Requirements:

- Must meet participant requirements as previously mentioned before

- Must give consent to participate in activity/test

During the Experiment

Subjects will be asked to:

- Without turning object over, arrange 10 containers in

order according to weight while being timed

o Dominant hand group

- Only the participants dominant hand will be used

for all trials

o Non-Dominant hand group

- Dominant hand will be used for trials 1, 2, 5, and 6

- Non-Dominant hand will be used for trials 3 and 4

During the Experiment Cont.

Why do it this way?

- To see overall improvement between participants

with their non-dominant and dominant hand

- To identify a difference between dominant and

non-dominant hand final mean error score

- To identify a faster final response time in dominant

hand group versus non-dominant hand group

During the Experiment Cont.

When?

- Whenever it was convenient for the participant

How many trials and why?

- The participants will complete a total of 6 trials

- In order to get an average value for the initial,

practice, and final to get more accurate data

Consent Form Permission to Participate in Study

- I agree to volunteer in Alyssa Figueroa and Marissa

Jacob’s research study.

- I know I can quit at any time.

- I will not hold TWU responsible if I am injured in

the study.

Signature Date

Statistical Hypotheses

Hypothesis: The dominant hand group will have less number of

errors in their final mean score compared to the non-dominant

hand group.

Dominant Hand vs Non-Dominant Hand Group In Final Mean Error Score

t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances

Non-dominant Dominant

Mean 2.40 1.05

Standard Deviation 0.57 0.76

Variance 0.32 0.58

Observations 10.00 10.00

Pooled Variance 0.45

Hypothesized Mean Difference 0.00

df 18.00

t Stat 4.49

P(T<=t) one-tail 0.00

t Critical one-tail 1.73

P(T<=t) two-tail 0.00

t Critical two-tail 2.10

t(18)=4.49, p<.05

Accept Hypothesis, because the dominant hand group had

the least amount of errors in their final mean score

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

Non-dominant Dominant

# o

f errors

Group

Dominant Hand vs Non-Dominant Hand

Group In Final Mean Error Score (Mean + SD)

Hypothesis: The non-dominant hand group will show a greater

improvement between their initial mean error score and their

final mean error score compared to the dominant hand group.

Dominant Hand vs Non-Dominant Hand Group In Error Improvement Between Intial and

Final Trials

t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances

Non-dominant Dominant

Mean -0.30 0.30

Standard Deviation 0.59 0.59

Variance 0.34 0.34

Observations 10.00 10.00

Pooled Variance 0.34

Hypothesized Mean Difference 0.00

df 18.00

t Stat -2.29

P(T<=t) one-tail 0.02

t Critical one-tail 1.73

P(T<=t) two-tail 0.03

t Critical two-tail 2.10

t(18)=2.29, p<.05

Reject Hypothesis, because the dominant hand group showed the greatest

improvement. The non-dominant hand group actually performed worse in

their final trial than their initial trial.

-1.00

-0.80

-0.60

-0.40

-0.20

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

Non-dominant Dominant

# o

f errors

Group

Dominant Hand vs Non-Dominant Hand

Group In Improvement Between Initial and Final Trials (Mean + SD)

Hypothesis: There will be no significant difference

between the final mean times for dominant hand group

and non-dominant hand group.

Dominant Hand vs Non-Dominant Hand Group In Final Mean Time

t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances

Non-dominant Dominant

Mean 50.25 36.40

Standard Deviation 23.51 8.32

Variance 552.74 69.27

Observations 10.00 10.00

Pooled Variance 311.00

Hypothesized Mean Difference 0.00

df 18.00

t Stat 1.76

P(T<=t) one-tail 0.05

t Critical one-tail 1.73

P(T<=t) two-tail 0.10

t Critical two-tail 2.10

t(18)=1.76, p>.05

Accept Hypothesis, because p value was greater than .05 and the

computed t value was less than the critical t value. Therefore there

is no significant difference in final mean times.

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

Non-dominant Dominant

Tim

e (

sec)

Group

Dominant Hand vs. Non-Dominant Hand

Group In Final Mean Time (Mean + SD)

Our Findings

We believe the dominant hand group improved more in our research study because, the participants are use to constantly using that particular hand on a daily basis. Which, allowed their time to improve and number of errors to decrease as they progressed over several trials of practice.

We believe the second group didn’t improve as much as the first group because research personnel involved trials that used both dominant and non-dominant hands. Which, potentially lead to their overall time and number of scores to be slightly effected.

Research Design Evaluation

Yes, we strongly believe that the weight

discrimination test design was best used to accurately

test our research hypotheses and identify the variables

used throughout the study.

Problems

Did not distinguish 6 and 9 labels on the bottom of

containers sufficiently

- Added a line under the 9 so participants and

research personnel could better understand the

difference.

Questions or Comments?

References

Brodie, E. E. & Ross, H. E. (1985). Jiggling a lifted weight does aid discrimination. The American Journal of Psychology 98(3), 469-471.

Fine, B. J. (1973). Field-dependence-independence as “sensitivity” of the nervous system: supportive evidence with color and weight discrimination. Perceptual and Motor Skills 37, 287-295.

Tanno, Y., Shiihara, Y., & Machiyama, Y. (1999). Aberrant judgmental pattern of schizophrenic patients in weight discrimination. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 53, 477-483.