Back to Search Start Over

The perception of length on curved and flat surfaces.

The perception of length on curved and flat surfaces.

Authors :
Norman JF
Lappin JS
Norman HF
Source :
Perception & psychophysics [Percept Psychophys] 2000 Aug; Vol. 62 (6), pp. 1133-45.
Publication Year :
2000

Abstract

In three experiments, observers judged the apparent extents of spatial intervals along the surface of a curved cylinder or a flat plane that was binocularly viewed in a natural, indoor environment. The observers' judgments of surface lengths were precise and reliable but were also inaccurate and subject to relatively large constant errors. These distortions differed among the observers, but they tended to perceive lengths oriented along the curved dimension of the cylinder as being longer than physically equivalent lengths in the noncurved dimension. This phenomenon did not occur when the observers judged curved and noncurved paths on the flat surface. In addition, some observers' judgments of length were affected by changes in the distance to the cylinder, whereas others were affected by the cylinder's orientation in space. These results demonstrate that the perception of length on surfaces is highly dependent on the particular context in which the length occurs.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0031-5117
Volume :
62
Issue :
6
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Perception & psychophysics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
11019612
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03212118