Environmental context influences visually perceived distance. 2006

Joseph S Lappin, and Amy L Shelton, and John J Rieser
Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN 37203, USA. joe.lappin@vanderbilt.edu

What properties determine visually perceived space? We discovered that the perceived relative distances of familiar objects in natural settings depended in unexpected ways onthe surrounding visual field. Observers bisected egocentric distances in a lobby, in a hallway, and on an open lawn. Three key findings were the following: (1) Perceived midpoints were too far from the observer, which is the opposite of the common foreshortening effect. (2) This antiforeshortening constant error depended on the environmental setting--greatest in the lobby and hall but nonsignificant on the lawn. (3) Context also affected distance discrimination; variability was greater in the hall than in the lobby or on the lawn. A second experiment replicated these findings, using a method of constant stimuli. Evidently, both the accuracy and the precision of perceived distance depend on subtle properties of the surrounding environment.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D011930 Reaction Time The time from the onset of a stimulus until a response is observed. Response Latency,Response Speed,Response Time,Latency, Response,Reaction Times,Response Latencies,Response Times,Speed, Response,Speeds, Response
D003463 Cues Signals for an action; that specific portion of a perceptual field or pattern of stimuli to which a subject has learned to respond. Cue
D004192 Discrimination, Psychological Differential response to different stimuli. Discrimination, Psychology,Psychological Discrimination
D004215 Distance Perception The act of knowing or the recognition of a distance by recollective thought, or by means of a sensory process which is under the influence of a set of prior experiences. Distance Discrimination,Discrimination, Distance,Discriminations, Distance,Perception, Distance
D004777 Environment The external elements and conditions which surround, influence, and affect the life and development of an organism or population. Environmental Impact,Environmental Impacts,Impact, Environmental,Impacts, Environmental,Environments
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D014796 Visual Perception The selecting and organizing of visual stimuli based on the individual's past experience. Visual Processing,Perception, Visual,Processing, Visual

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