@article{ref1,
title="Intuitive physics: the straight-down belief and its origin",
journal="Journal of experimental psychology: learning, memory, and cognition",
year="1983",
author="McCloskey, M. and Washburn, A. and Felch, L.",
volume="9",
number="4",
pages="636-649",
abstract="This study examines the nature and origin of a common misconception about moving objects. We first show through the use of pencil-and-paper problems that many people erroneously believe that an object that is carried by another moving object (e.g., a ball carried by a walking person) will, if dropped, fall to the ground in a straight vertical line. (In fact, such an object will fall forward in a parabolic arc.) We then demonstrate that this &quot;straight-down belief&quot; turns up not only on pencil-and-paper problems but also on a problem presented in a concrete, dynamic fashion (Experiment 1) and in a situation in which a subject drops a ball while walking (Experiment 2). We next consider the origin of the straight-down belief and propose that the belief may stem from a perceptual illusion. Specifically, we suggest that objects dropped from a moving carrier may be perceived as falling straight down or even backward, when in fact they move forward as they fall. Experiment 3, in which subjects view computer-generated displays simulating situations in which a carried object is dropped, and Experiment 4, in which subjects view a videotape of a walking person dropping an object, provide data consistent with this &quot;seeing is believing&quot; hypothesis.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0278-7393",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}