Perceived Distance in Imagined Space

Abstract

An experiment was designed to determine whether, in the absence of distance-cues, the perceived distance of an object is regulated by the imagined space in which the object is located. Judgements of distance and size were obtained in a completely reduced situation. Preceding these judgements, the subject engaged in 5 min. of visual exploration of the interior of an oblong box. The length of the box differed (3, 6 or 9 ft.) for different groups of subjects. The different pre-exposure conditions were expected to produce differences in the dimensions of the imagined space that the subject introduced in the subsequent test session. These differences in imagined space should lead to differences in the perceived distance of a single object located at a constant distance. Significant differences were obtained in the expected direction. In addition, judgements of the size of the standard tended to co-vary positively with the distance-judgments, suggesting that the effect of imagined space on judged distance was not simply the product of experimental biasing of the response system. Some methodological and theoretical implications of the findings are considered.