Chapter 18 Visual Perception of Self-Motion

Abstract

Publisher Summary The apparent angular velocities of objects in the field of vision are inversely proportional to their real distances, and consequently, safe conclusions can be drawn as to the real distance of the body from its apparent angular velocity. This chapter presents the conception of motion perception as the basis of spatial perception. This perception always has a subjective component as well as an objective component, which specifies (the observer's) position, movement, and direction as much as it specifies the location, slant, and shape of the surface. Accurate perception of a three-dimensional object can be derived from the presentation of its two-dimensional projection, provided it is brought into motion; this is named the “Kinetic Depth Effect.” The visual system abstracts relational invariances in the visual motion and constructs percepts of rigid objects moving in three-dimensional space. The fundamental idea that vision plays a proprioceptive role in the control of self-motion is in close agreement with original idea that all kinds of receptors (including visual receptors) contribute to “functional proprioception” during the control of action.