Salience and Asymmetric Judgments of Physical Distance

Abstract

Previous research has shown that distance estimates made from memory are often asymmetric. Specifically, when A is a prominent location (a landmark) and B is not, people tend to recall a longer distance from A to B than from B to A. Results of two experiments showed that asymmetric judgments of distance are not restricted to judgments made from memory but occur also for judgments made when all relevant visual cues are still present. Furthermore, results indicated that situational salience is sufficient to produce asymmetric judgments and that distinctiveness (such as in the case of architectural landmarks) is not necessary.

The estimation of physical distances between oneself and a social robot: Am I as far from the robot as it is from me?

“…Another perspective, however, suggests that the self may not be able to play a sufficiently prominent role as an estimation reference point when we consider the stereotypical representation of eight pigeons positioned peacefully on a square. A study by Formanowicz and Karylowski (2011) compared the estimation of distance between oneself, represented by a black dot labeled “yourself”, and a red triangle, without any additional further information regarding placement. The red triangle, in this case, was perceived as being further away from oneself (as reference point) than when the distance to oneself was estimated using the red triangle as the reference.…”