Abstract
In two experiments involving a total of 83 participants, the effect of vertical angular optical compression on the perceived distance and size of a target on the ground was investigated. Replicating an earlier report (Wallach & O’Leary, 1982), reducing the apparent angular declination below the horizon produced apparent object width increases (by 33 %), consistent with the perception of a greater ground distance to the object. A throwing task confirmed that perceived distance was indeed altered by about 33 %. The results are discussed in relation to cue recruitment and to recent evidence of systematic bias in the perception of angular declination.
Highlights
In two experiments involving a total of 83 participants, the effect of vertical angular optical compression on the perceived distance and size of a target on the ground was investigated
When an observer is situated within a 3-D environment, the precise angular direction to the point at which an object contacts a horizontal ground plane can provide a direct measure of the distance to the object along the ground, provided that one can take one’s eye height into account
We have independent reasons to believe that angular declination is an important distance cue that controls walking behavior and explicit distance perception (Li et al, 2013; Messing & Durgin, 2005; Ooi, Wu, & He, 2001), no one apart from WOL have previously directly manipulated perceived angular declination without altering the perceived horizon itself
Summary
In two experiments involving a total of 83 participants, the effect of vertical angular optical compression on the perceived distance and size of a target on the ground was investigated. Ooi, Wu, and He (2001) showed that adaptation to base-up prism goggles changed perceived distance (measured by walking behavior) in a manner consistent with a resetting of the perceived height of the (implicit) visual horizon. Messing and Durgin (2005) showed that a subtle direct manipulation of the explicit visual horizon in a virtual environment (i.e., lowering it by 1.5°) shifted perceived distance as predicted—both for explicit estimation and for a blindfolded walking task. These manipulations both involve shifting the perceived horizon rather than rescaling perceived angles relative to the true horizon as WOL did. The device employed by WOL is a sort of embodiment of angular expansion/compression
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