The Geometries of Visual SpaceWhen most people think of space, they think of physical space. However, visual space concerns space as consciously experienced, and it is studied through subjective measures, such as asking people to use numbers to estimate perceived distances, areas, angles, or volumes. This book explores the mismatch between perception and physical reality, and describes the many factors that influence the perception of space including the meaning assigned to geometric concepts like distance, the judgment methods used to report the experience, the presence or absence of cues to depth, and the orientation of a stimulus with respect to point of view. The main theme of the text is that no single geometry describes visual space, but that the geometry of visual space depends upon the stimulus conditions and mental shifts in the subjective meaning of size and distance. In addition, The Geometries of Visual Space: *contains philosophical, mathematical, and psychophysical background material; *looks at synthetic approaches to space perception including work on hyperbolic, spherical, and Euclidean geometries; *presents a meta-analysis of studies that ask observers to directly estimate size, distance, area, angle, and volume; *looks at the size constancy literature in which observers are asked to adjust a comparison stimulus to match a variety of standards at different distances away; *discusses research that takes a multi-dimensional approach toward studying visual space; and *discusses how spatial experience is influenced by memory. While this book is primarily intended for scholars in perception, mathematical psychology, and psychophysics, it will also be accessible to a wider audience since it is written at a readable level. It will make a good graduate-level textbook on space perception. |
Contents
1 Introduction Contrasting Visual Experiential and Physical Space | 1 |
2 Traditional Views of Geometry and Vision | 12 |
3 Synthetic Approaches to Visual Space Perception | 30 |
4 An Analytic Approach to Space and Vision | 50 |
5 Effects of Context on Judgments of Distance AreaVolume and Angle | 74 |
6 Factors Affecting Size Constancy | 103 |
Multidimensional Approaches to Space Perception | 143 |
8 Cognitive Maps Memory and Space Perception | 189 |
9 The Geometries of Visual Space Conclusion | 223 |
References | 231 |
| 265 | |
| 271 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Affine contraction model angle judgments apparent instructions appear axioms Baird binocular Brunswik chapter coefficients of determination cognitive maps comparison compression consistent constancy cue conditions cues to depth curvature data set defined distance estimation distance judgments egocentric environment equation estimation exponents Euclidean Euclidean geometry experience factors frontally oriented full-cue conditions Gärling geometry of visual haptic higher exponents hyperbolic hyperbolic geometry in-depth dimension inference conditions Journal of Experimental judge judgment methods landmarks literature Luneburg's magnitude estimation memory metric space monocular moon illusion objective instructions observer’s overconstancy parameter paths perceived distance Perception & Psychophysics physical distance physical space power function power function exponents predict projective instructions psychophysical reduced-cue conditions scaling constant showed significantly size-constancy space perception spatial layout spatial perception spherical geometry standard stimulus orientation stimulus range studies synthetic synthetic geometries tance target Teghtsoonian theory Thouless Ratios tion triangle inequality underconstancy variables visual angle visual space Wagner
Popular passages
Page 242 - Gogel, WC, & Tietz, JD (1973). Absolute motion parallax and the specific distance tendency. Perception & Psychophysics, 13, 284-292. Gogel, WC, & Tietz, JD (1977). Eye fixation and attention as modifiers of perceived distance.
Page 236 - Developmental differences in cognitive mapping: Configurational knowledge of familiar large-scale environments. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 31, 456-469.