The visual perception of size and distance

Abstract

Abstract-The perception of absolute distance has been assumed to be important in the perception of the size of objects and the depth between them. A different hypothesis is proposed. It is asserted that perceived relative size and distance are the primary psychological phenomena with perceived absolute distance derived from the perceptual summing of perceived relative depths. In agreement with this point-of-view, it is stressed that relative rather than absolute retinal extents are the determiners of visually perceived extents. A principle called the "adjacency principle" is identified as perceptually organizing the relative retinal stimuli. This principle states that the apparent size or position of any object in the field of view is determined by whatever size or distance cues occur between it and adjacent objects. Some evidence for the adjacency principle is discussed and some consequences of the principle are considered.R&urn&-On admet &ntralement que la perception de la distance absolue est un facteur important de la perception de la dimension des objets et de la profondeur qui les separe. On propose une hypothtse diff&ente, selon laquelle la dimension relative et la distance peques sont les phCnomtnes psychologiques primaires, tandis que la perception de la distance absolue d&rive d'une sommation des profondeurs relatives perGues. En accord avec ce point de vue, on insiste sur Ie fait que lest5carts pewues visuellement sont dbterminb plutbt par les &arts rhtiniens relatifs que par les &arts absolus. On a identifiC un principe, nommC "principe de contiguitC", comme le facteur perceptuel qui organise les stimuli ti:tiniens relatifs. Ce principe ttablit que la dimension apparente ou la position d'un objet quelconque du champ visuel est d&ermine par tout guide de taille ou de distance qui existe entre lui et les objets adjacents. On discute quelques faits qui sont en faveur du principe de contiguitC et on Ctudie quelques consbquences de ce principe. Zusammenfassnng-Es wurde angenommen, dass die Wahrnehmung des absoluten Abstandes fiir die Wahmehmung der Griisse und des Tiefenabstandes von Objekten bedeutsam sei. Eine neue Hypothese wird vorgeschlagen.Es wird behauptet, dass die wahrgenommene relative GrGsse und der Abstand die primiren psychologischen Erscheinungen sind, wobei der wahrgenommene absolute Abstand sich durch Summation der wahrgenommenen relativen Tiefenabstlnde in der Wahrnehmung herleitet. In Ubereinstimmung mit diesem Gesichtspunkt wird betont, dass vielmehr relative als absolute Abstlnde auf der Retina bestimmend fiir visuell wahrgenommene Ausdehnun~n sind. Ein Prinzip, das "adjacency principle" (Nachbarschaftsprinzip) genannt wird, erweist sich als verantwortlich fiir die wahrnehmungsgemlsse Organisation der realtiven Reize auf der Netzhaut. Das Prinzip legt fest, dass die scheinbare G&se oder Lage eines Objektes im Gesichtsfeld dadurch bestimmt ist, dass bei einer bestimmten G&se oder einem bestimmten Abstand gewisse Marken zwischen ihm und dem benachbarten Objekt erscheinen. Eine BeweismBgl...

The effect of verbal size information upon visual judgments of absolute distance

“…There was no indication of the severe underestimation of distance that occurs when size information is conveyed by means of familiarity or by means of a haptic comparison object. Gogel (1963Gogel ( , 1964 argued that the large standard deviations which occurred in Baird's experiment (42.6,7.3,and 5.6 ft for the half-ruler, normal-ruler, and double-ruler groups) show that this kind of size cue could not be of much value because of its lack of precision. It is important to note, however, that these statistics are between-Os measures; they are not derived from repeated measurements of single as, and, hence, individual differences will inflate the standard deviations.…”

Toward a new theory of stereopsis.

“…The apparent size of an object is thought to be determined by scaling the retina image by the estimated distance to the object (Holway & Boring, 1941;Kaufman & Rock, 1962;Gogel, 1963) 12 ; for a given retinal image size, objects that are perceived as closer will appear smaller. Pictorial objects are usually cognitively inferred to be at some distance beyond the picture surface, consistent with the size of familiar object in the scene relative to the picture frame and the size of the picture itself.…”

Depth adjacency in simultaneous contrast

“…For objects in the same Ironto-parallel plane, the magnitude of the whiteness contrast between a test and induction object is inversely related to the separation between the objects (Freeman, 1967). However, adjacency can occur in depth as well as in a fronto-parallel plane, and it has been demonstrated that the former as welI as the latter type of adjacency can be important in determining perceived characteristics (Gogel, 1963). The purpose of the present study is to explore the possibility that depth adjacency is a significant factor in the determination of simultaneous whiteness contrast.…”

“…The significance of this factor is expressed in the adjacency principle (Gogel, 1965b) which states that the effectiveness of cues between objects in determining perceived object characteristics is inversely related to the relative separation of the objects. The adjacency principle has been demonstrated to apply to the perception of depth from binocular disparity or size cues (Gogel, 1963(Gogel, , 1965b(Gogel, , 1967 but it also can be applied to other perceived characteristics such as the perceived whiteness of objects. For objects in the same Ironto-parallel plane, the magnitude of the whiteness contrast between a test and induction object is inversely related to the separation between the objects (Freeman, 1967).…”