Angular velocity discrimination

Abstract

Three experiments were designed to investigate naive observers' abilities at discriminating the rotational velocities of two simultaneously viewed objects. In Experiment 1, rotations could occur about parallel or orthogonal axes, with initial orientations in phase or out of phase, and (for parallel rotational axes) in the same or opposite direction. Differential thresholds were approximately 10%. In Experiment 2, stimulus objects differed in the number of faces revealed in rotation (three vs. four). Observers' response curves had no greater spread, but their PSEs (points of subjective equality) were shifted such that there was a partial compensation for faces revealed per unit time. In both Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, performance was consistent across rotational axis and directional conditions. In Experiment 3, the effect of object size was examined, in order to determine the extent to which angular velocity judgments are influenced by the tangential velocity of the faces. When the comparison cube's edges were half the length of the standard's, PSEs were elevated 18.5%. Taken together, these data suggest that observers are able to discriminate angular velocities with a competence near that for linear velocities. However, perceived angular rate is influenced by structural aspects of the stimuli.