What Is the Study of Our Ability to Feel the Weight of Objects?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the study of human perception of weight, specifically how individuals can feel the weight of objects and the thresholds involved in this perception. Participants explore concepts related to mechanoreception and the laws governing sensory perception, particularly in the context of weight perception.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the term or study related to the ability to feel the weight of objects, noting the existence of a threshold in perception.
  • Another participant references a relationship between perceived weight and actual weight, suggesting that perception is more sensitive to relative changes rather than absolute changes, and compares this to sound perception.
  • A third participant proposes that this topic falls under mechanoreception.
  • Further clarification is provided regarding the Weber-Fechner law, which relates to the perception of weight.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying degrees of understanding and terminology related to the perception of weight, with some proposing specific laws and concepts while others seek clarification. No consensus is reached on a singular term or study that encapsulates the entire discussion.

Contextual Notes

There are references to specific laws and concepts (Weber-Fechner law, mechanoreception) that may require further exploration for full understanding. The discussion does not resolve the complexities of how weight perception is studied or defined.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying sensory perception, psychology, or neuroscience, particularly in relation to how humans perceive physical properties like weight.

OAQfirst
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Is there a term/study for our ability to feel a range of weight of objects? For example, if you pick up a brick, you can definitely feel its weight. But if you put a small feather in someone's hand, she couldn't possibly feel any weight. So there is a threshold. What area of study covers this?

My search strategies with Google are generating mostly products for weight control. The closest I've found is the somatosensory system, but that's not really what I'm looking for.
 
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Was it Fischer's or Wenzel's law it was called?? Frankly, I don't remember.
However:

The basic relationship that connects perception of weight and the actual weight, is that an increase in the perception is proportional to the RELATIVE increase in actual weight rather than the absolute increase.
(i.e, if you have a 1-gram object in your hand getting another, you'll definitely notice that there was an increase, but if you held a kilogram in your hand and it was added a 1-gram object, you'd barely notice the increase)

That perceptions are sensitive to relative alterations, rather than to absolute ones is found elsewhere as well, the best known being sound, which is measured in Db.
 
Okay. This would be in the domain of mechanoreception then?

And thank you!
 
That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

And my God. Google had this topic indexed but three minutes after I posted it.
 

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