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Perceptual constancy refers to our ability to see things differently without having to reinterpret the object's properties.

Is differently referring to we see or things?

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3 Answers

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An adverb modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb.
The adverb differently is referring to the verb of the sentence you wrote.

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In your words, 'we differently see things'. 'Things' means 'the situation' as opposed to actual objects. Another way of phrasing it would be 'see things from a different perspective'.

If the author meant 'see different things', he would say 'see different things'! :)

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@Elendi I think the 'see' really means 'see', not a 'perspective' ...... so, I replace the pronoun with the noun. sorry, for my carelessness. – user3780 Feb 1 '11 at 22:38
Ah, sorry... I thought the quote was referring to some kind of abstract object (as in programming). – user3444 Feb 2 '11 at 9:19
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It means that if we select a group of people, each one of them will see the same object/item in a different way. If you and I see a 8 oz glass with 4 oz of water, you may see it half-full and I half-empty.

Trivia: Apple's "think different" campaign should of read "think differently".

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2  
...or, "think 'different'." – oosterwal Feb 2 '11 at 3:18
2  
...also, "should of" should have been "should have." – oosterwal Feb 2 '11 at 3:19

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