Local spatial distortion caused by simple geometrical figures

TY - JOUR

T1 - Local spatial distortion caused by simple geometrical figures

AU - Aksentijevic, Aleksandar

AU - Elliott, Mark

N1 - © 2016. The attached document (embargoed until 31/05/2017) is an author produced version of a paper, uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17470218.2016.1192657. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it.

PY - 2016/6/14

Y1 - 2016/6/14

N2 - Dynamic distortion of the visual field has been shown to affect perceptual judgment of visual dimensions such as size, length, and distance. Here, we report four experiments demonstrating that the different aspects of a triangle differently influence judgments of distance. Specifically, when the base of the triangle faces the centre of the display, participants consistently underestimate and overestimate the distance of a small dot from the unmarked centre of the display relative to conditions in which the vertex of the triangle faces the centre. When the dot is close to the figure, the distance of the dot to the centre is underestimated. Conversely, when the dot is close to the figure, the distance to the centre is overestimated. The effect is replicated when the internal distances are equalized and when ellipses are used instead of triangles. These results support a ripple model of spatial distortion in which local curvature acts to attract or repel objects. In conclusion, we suggest some implications of our findings for theories of perceptual organization.

AB - Dynamic distortion of the visual field has been shown to affect perceptual judgment of visual dimensions such as size, length, and distance. Here, we report four experiments demonstrating that the different aspects of a triangle differently influence judgments of distance. Specifically, when the base of the triangle faces the centre of the display, participants consistently underestimate and overestimate the distance of a small dot from the unmarked centre of the display relative to conditions in which the vertex of the triangle faces the centre. When the dot is close to the figure, the distance of the dot to the centre is underestimated. Conversely, when the dot is close to the figure, the distance to the centre is overestimated. The effect is replicated when the internal distances are equalized and when ellipses are used instead of triangles. These results support a ripple model of spatial distortion in which local curvature acts to attract or repel objects. In conclusion, we suggest some implications of our findings for theories of perceptual organization.

U2 - 10.1080/17470218.2016.1192657

DO - 10.1080/17470218.2016.1192657

M3 - Article

SN - 1747-0218

JO - Quarterly Journal Of Experimental Psychology

JF - Quarterly Journal Of Experimental Psychology

ER -