The role of instructions and familiar size in absolute judgments of size and distance

The effects of familiar size and instructions (apparent, objective) on direct reports of size and distance were evaluated. Subjects estimated the size and distance of two different-sized playing cards or two unfamiliar stimuli under either apparent or objective instructions. The stimuli were presented successively at a distance of 5.48 m under reduced-cue conditions. The form of the instructions selectively influenced the effect of familiar size on absolute judgments of size and distance, with apparent instructions minimizing, and objective instructions promoting, familiar-size effects. The ratio of the distance judgments of the first to the second presented stimuli approximated the relative retinal sizes of the two objects under both apparent and objective instructions, while the ratio of size judgments tended to be either influenced by or independent of the object’s relative retinal sizes under apparent and objective instructions, respectively. These results are consistent with Gogel’s theory of off-size perception and, in particular, with the claim that, in comparison with apparent instructions, objective instructions are more likely to direct observers to base their judgments on cognitive, as opposed to perceptual, sources of spatial information.

[1]  W C Gogel,et al.  The role of suggested size in distance responses , 1981, Perception & psychophysics.

[2]  W C Gogel,et al.  Directional separation and the size cue to distance , 1971, Psychologische Forschung.

[3]  Walter C. Gogel,et al.  An indirect method of measuring perceived distance from familiar size , 1976 .

[4]  Atsuki Higashiyama,et al.  Perceived size and distance as a perceptual conflict between two processing modes , 1977 .

[5]  William Epstein,et al.  Size and distance judgments under reduced conditions of viewing , 1969 .

[6]  Walter C. Gogel,et al.  Failure of familiar size to determine a metric for visually perceived distance , 1975 .

[7]  L O Harvey,et al.  Effect of instructions, environment, and type of test object on matched size. , 1969, Journal of experimental psychology.

[8]  Walter C. Gogel,et al.  A two-process theory of the response to size and distance , 1987, Perception & Psychophysics.

[9]  Walter C. Gogel,et al.  Familiar size and the theory of off-sized perceptions , 1987, Perception & psychophysics.

[10]  Walter C. Gogel,et al.  Perception of off-sized objects1 , 1969 .

[11]  Gary N. Falacara,et al.  On the Use of ‘Calibration Equations’ in Perception Research , 1977, Perception.

[12]  W C Gogel.  The absolute and relative size cues to distance. , 1969, The American journal of psychology.

[13]  W C Gogel,et al.  The Effect of Object Familiarity on the Perception of Size and Distance , 1969, The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology.

[14]  W C Gogel,et al.  The sensing of retinal size. , 1969, Vision research.

[15]  A. Higashiyama,et al.  The effects of familiar size on judgments of size and distance: An interaction of viewing attitude with spatial cues , 1984, Perception & psychophysics.

[16]  R. B. Joynson.  The Problem of Size and Distance , 1949 .

[17]  Walter C. Gogel,et al.  Absolute motion parallax and the specific distance tendency , 1973 .

[18]  I. Curthoys,et al.  The effects of instructions and distance on judgments of off-size familial objects under natural viewing conditions. , 1974, The American journal of psychology.

[19]  V. R. Carlson.  Underestimation in Size-Constancy Judgments , 1960 .

[20]  Gogel Wc,et al.  The measurement of perceived size and distance. , 1968 .

[21]  W. Gogel,et al.  The organization of perceived space , 1973, Psychologische Forschung.