Abstract
Two experiments investigating the constancy of egocentric visual direction were conducted. In Experiment 1, subjects indicated when a briefly exposed light was subjectively straight ahead during various degrees of asymmetric convergence. The results indicated that the perception of direction exhibited systematic underconstancy. The departures from constancy were dependent upon the degree of asymmetric convergence, increasing as asymmetric convergence increased. Experiment 2 investigated the source of underconstancy found in Experiment 1. The results showed that the underconstancy was due to a combination of the misregistration of eye position and misregistration of the retinal location stimulated. The errors due to misregistration of retinal area were constant regardless of location of the test target, while the errors due to misregistration of eye position were dependent upon the degree of asymmetric convergence. The results were interpreted as supporting a “taking-into-account” model of visual direction.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References1
Benholtz, S. M., &Paap, K. R.The constancy of object orientation: Compensation for ocular rotation.perception & Psychophysics 1973,14, 458–470.
Epstein, W.Varieties of perceptual learning. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
Epstein, W. The process of ’taking-into-account’ in visual perception.Perception, 1973,2, 267–285.
Foley, J. M., &Held, R. Visually directed pointing as a function of target distance, direction, and available cues.Perception & Psychophysics, 1972,12, 263–268.
Hill, A. L. Direction constancy.Perception & Psychophysics, 1972,11, 175–178.
Holway, A. H., &Boring, E. G. Determinants of apparent visual size with distance variant.American Journal of Psychology, 1941,54, 21–37.
Johnson, C. A., &Leibowitz, H. W. Practice, refractive error. and feedback as factors influencing peripheral motion thresholds.Perception & Psychophysics, 1974,15, 276–280.
Kaiser, P. K. Perceived shape and its dependency on perceived slant.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1967,75 345–353.
Loemker, K. K. Certain factors determining the accuracy of a response to the direction of a visual object.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1930,13, 500–518.
Low, F. N. Some characteristics of peripheral visual performance.American Journal of Physiology, 1946,146, 573–584.
Mann, L., &Kibler, G. Acuity of visual perception of direction in the dark for various positions of the eye In the orbit.Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1966,22, 407–420.
Mann, L., Pearce, D., Mann, E., &Kibler, G. Visual perception of direction in the dark: Roles of local sign, eye movements, and ocular proprioception.Vision Research, 1966,6, 453–469.
Paap, K. R.Perceptual consequences of post-tetanic potentiation. An alternative explanation for adaptation to wedge prisms. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1975.
Park, J. N. Displacement of apparent straight ahead as an aftereffect of deviation of the eyes from normal position.Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1969,28, 591–597.
Shebilske, W. Visuomotor coordination in visual direction and position constancies. In W Epstein (Ed.)Stability and constancy in visual perception Mechanisms and processes. New York: Wiley, 1977.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported in part by Research Grant MH 48463 from the US Public Health Service.
This paper is based on part of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Morgan, C.L. Constancy of egocentric visual direction. Perception & Psychophysics 23, 61–68 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03214296
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03214296