a picture is worth $10 million: adult object permanence and the neglected power of sight

A PICTURE IS WORTH $10 MILLION:

ADULT OBJECT PERMANENCE AND THE NEGLECTED POWER OF SIGHT

“The vanished object is not yet for [the child] a permanent object which has been moved; it is a mere image which reenters the void as soon as it vanishes.”

--Jean Piaget (1954)

What is the most you would be willing pay (for a taxi?) to avoid driving drunk?

Does this affect your willingness to pay?

What is the most you would be willing to forego to work in a smoke-free environment?

Lungs should be pink. These are lungs of people exposed to cigarette smoke. Does this affect the amount you would forego?

Median Damage Estimates for Oil Refineries and Coal-Burning Power Plants

Oil Oil

Oil

Oil

Coal

Coal

Coal Coal

0

5

10

15

20

25

No Photo Coal Photo Oil Photo Both Photos

Es

tim

ate

d A

nn

ua

l Dam

age

in M

illio

ns

($)

Suppose the protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) from oil drilling would necessitate higher gas prices. How much extra would you be willing to pay per gallon of gasoline for the next year in order to preserve the ANWR? __________

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Median Average

Babies

Tundra

Imagination

WILLINGNESS TO PAY PER GALLON OF GASOLINE TO PRESERVE ANWR

Dietitians

Risk assessments

Xenophobia

Infanticide

If images matter, they matter to

• Social Awareness

• Policy Decisions

• Economic Education

This Motivates• Field Trips• Internet Exercises• Diagrams / Charts / Graphs• Books with many visual aids

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