Abstract
Two methods of measuring perceived distance as a function of familiar size were compared in five experiments. The method which uses the perception of motion concomitant with a motion of the head, unlike the method of verbal report, is considered to provide a measure of perceived distance that is unaffected by factors of cognitive distance. The results of the experiments indicate that although the perceived egocentric distance of an object can vary somewhat as a function of the cue of familiar size, the larger variation often found with verbal reports of distance is based upon cognitive, not perceptual, information. The cognitive information is interpreted as resulting from the perception of the object as off-sized and the observer’s assumption that the perceived size of an object will vary inversely with its physical distance.
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This investigation was supported by PHS Research Grant MH-15651 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
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Gogel, W.C. An indirect method of measuring perceived distance from familiar size. Perception & Psychophysics 20, 419–429 (1976). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208276
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208276