ABSTRACT
We tested how well participants can detect and assess anomalous transfers of energy in simulated free-fall-and-bounce trajectories. Participants were asked to rate naturalness of computer-simulated ball bounces. We manipulated either elasticity or gravity. Ratings were sensitive to increases in energy on the rising parts of the bounce trajectories, but were insensitive to either increases or decreases on the descending half. This is the first in a series of experiments planned to explore the roles of conservation, dissipation, and causality in event perception, inspired by Runeson’s (Runeson & Frykholm, 1983) KSD hypothesis.
