Does Ease to Block a Ball Affect Perceived Ball Speed? Examination of Alternative Hypotheses

According to an action-specific account of perception, the perceived speed of a ball can be a function of the ease to block the ball. Balls that are easier to stop look like they are moving slower than balls that are more difficult to stop. This was recently demonstrated with a modified version of the classic computer game Pong (Witt & Sugovic, 2010). However, alternative explanations can also explain these results without resorting to nonoptical effects on perception. To examine whether blocking ease influences perception, we conducted several experiments. We examined whether the apparent effects were due to the type of perceptual judgment, the timing of the judgment, and the effectiveness of the paddle. The results are consistent with a perceptual explanation, and help build a case that blocking ease can influence perceived speed.