When judging interior space, a dark ceiling is judged to be lower than a light ceiling. The method of metric judgments (e.g., on a centimetre scale) that has typically been used in such tasks may reflect a genuine perceptual effect or it may reflect a cognitively mediated impression. We employed a height-matching method in which perceived ceiling height had to be matched with an adjustable pillar, thus obtaining psychometric functions that allowed for an estimation of the point of subjective equality (PSE) and the difference limen (DL). The height-matching method developed in this paper allows for a direct visual match and does not require metric judgment. It has the added advantage of providing superior precision. Experiment 1 used ceiling heights between 2.90 m and 3.00 m. The PSE proved sensitive to slight changes in perceived ceiling height. The DL was about 3% of the physical ceiling height. Experiment 2 found similar results for lower (2.30 m to 2.50 m) and higher (3.30 m to 3.50 m) ceilings. In Experiment 3, we additionally varied ceiling lightness (light grey vs. dark grey). The height matches showed that the light ceiling appeared significantly higher than the darker ceiling. We therefore attribute the influence of ceiling lightness on perceived ceiling height to a direct perceptual rather than a cognitive effect.
BergmannJ., KraussE., MünchA., JungmannR., OberfeldD., & HechtH. (2011). Locomotor and verbal distance judgments in action and vista space. Experimental Brain Research, 210(1), 13–23. doi: 10.1007/s00221-011-2597-z.
5.
BurtonP., GurrinL., & SlyP. (1998). Extending the simple linear regression model to account for correlated responses: An introduction to generalized estimating equations and multi-level mixed modelling. Statistics in Medicine, 17(11), 1261–1291.
6.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.
7.
ComerfordJ. P., & KaiserP. K. (1975). Luminous-efficiency functions determined by heterochromatic brightness matching. Journal of the Optical Society of America, 65(4), 466–468. doi:10.1364/josa.65.000466.
8.
DrexelT. (2007). Kleine Wohnungen ganz groß: Spannend gestalten und geschickt nutzen. München: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt.
9.
FechnerG. T. (1860). Elemente der Psychophysik. Zweiter Theil. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel.
10.
FranzG. (2006). Space, color, and perceived qualities of indoor environments. In TolbaM. K., Abdel-HadiA., & SolimanS. (Eds.), Environment, health and sustainable development. Proceedings of the 19th international association for people-environment studies conference (IAPS 2006). Seattle, WA: USA Hogrefe & Huber.
11.
FranzG., von der HeydeM., & BülthoffH. H. (2005). An empirical approach to the experience of architectural space in virtual reality - exploring relations between features and affective appraisals of rectangular indoor spaces. Automation in Construction, 14(2), 165–172.
12.
FranzG., & WienerJ. M. (2005). Exploring isovist-based correlates of spatial behavior and experience. In NesA. v. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 5th international space syntax symposium (pp. 503–517). Amsterdam: Techne Press.
13.
GeussM. N., StefanucciJ. K., Creem-RegehrS. H., & ThompsonW. B. (2012). Effect of viewing plane on perceived distances in real and virtual environments. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Human Perception and Performance, 38(5), 1242–1253. doi:10.1037/a0027524.
14.
GießlerJ. F. (1990). Entwurf und Gestaltung für den Innenausbau: Grundlagen und Arbeitsmittel. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt.
15.
GrechkinT. Y., NguyenT. D., PlumertJ. M., CremerJ. F., & KearneyJ. K. (2010). How does presentation method and measurement protocol affect distance estimation in real and virtual environments?ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, 7(4), doi:10.1145/1823738.1823744.
16.
HellströmA. (1985). The time-order error and its relatives: Mirrors of cognitive processes in comparing. Psychological Bulletin, 97(1), 35–61.
17.
HolmbergL., AlmgrenS., SöderpalmA. C., & KüllerR. x(1967). The perception of volume content of rectangular rooms: Comparison between model and full scale experiments. Psychological Research Bulletin, 7(9), 13.
18.
HolmbergL., KüllerR., & TidblomI. (1966). The perception of volume content of rectangular rooms as a function of the ratio between depth and width. Psychological Research Bulletin, 6(1), 15.
HuynhH., & FeldtL. S. (1976). Estimation of the Box correction for degrees of freedom from sample data in randomized block and split-plot designs. Journal of Educational Statistics, 1(1), 69–82. doi: 10.2307/1164736
21.
ImamogluV. (1973). The effect of furniture density on the subjective evaluation of spaciousness and estimation of size of rooms. In KüllerR. (Eds.), Architectural psychology: Proceedings of the lund conference (pp. 341–352). Lund: Studentlitteratur ab.
22.
JesteadtW. (1980). An adaptive procedure for subjective judgments. Perception and Psychophysics, 28(1), 85–88.
23.
KenwardM. G., & RogerJ. H. (1997). Small sample inference for fixed effects from restricted maximum likelihood. Biometrics, 53(3), 983–997.
24.
KunzB. R., WoutersL., SmithD., ThompsonW. B., & Creem-RegehrS. H. (2009). Revisiting the effect of quality of graphics on distance judgments in virtual environments: A comparison of verbal reports and blind walking. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 71(6), 1284–1293. doi:10.3758/app.71.6.1284.
25.
LevittH. (1971). Transformed up-down methods in psychoacoustics. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 49(2), Suppl 2:467–477.
26.
LiangK. Y., & ZegerS. L. (1986). Longitudinal data analysis using generalized linear models. Biometrika, 73(1), 13–22.
27.
MorganM. J. (2005). The visual computation of 2-D area by human observers. Vision Research, 45(19), 2564–2570. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2005.04.004.
OberfeldD. (2007). Loudness changes induced by a proximal sound: Loudness enhancement, loudness recalibration, or both?Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 121(4), 2137–2148. doi:10.1121/1.2710433.
31.
OberfeldD., & HechtH. (2011). Fashion versus perception: The impact of surface lightness on the perceived dimensions of interior space. Human Factors, 53(3), 284–298. doi:10.1177/0018720811407331.
ReganD., & HamstraS. J. (1992). Shape discrimination and the judgement of perfect symmetry: Dissociation of shape from size. Vision Research, 32(10), 1854–1864.
34.
SadallaE. K., & OxleyD. (1984). The perception of room size: The rectangularity illusion. Environment and Behavior, 16(3), 394–405.
StampsA. E. (2007). Evaluating spaciousness in static and dynamic media. Design Studies, 28(5), 535–557. doi:10.1016/j.destud.2007.01.001.
37.
StampsA. E. (2010). Effects of permeability on perceived enclosure and spaciousness. Environment and Behavior, 42(6), 864–886. doi:10.1177/0013916509337287.
38.
StampsA. E. (2011). Effects of area, height, elongation, and color on perceived spaciousness. Environment and Behavior, 43(2), 252–273. doi:10.1177/0013916509354696.
39.
StampsA. E., & KrishnanV. V. (2006). Spaciousness and boundary roughness. Environment and Behavior, 38(6), 841–872. doi:10.1177/0013916506288052.
40.
StefanucciJ. K., & GeussM. N. (2010). Duck! Scaling the height of a horizontal barrier to body height. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 72(5), 1338–1349. doi:10.3758/app.72.5.1338.
41.
StevensS. S. (1957). On the psychophysical law. Psychological Review, 64(3), 153–181.
42.
StevensS. S. (1975). Psychophysics: Introduction to its perceptual, neural, and social prospects. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
43.
SwanstonM. T., & WadeN. J. (2001). Visual perception: An introduction (2nd ed.). Hove: Psychology Press.
44.
TeghtsoonianM. (1965). The judgment of size. American Journal of Psychology, 78(3), 392–402.
45.
UlrichR., & VorbergD. (2009). Estimating the difference limen in 2AFC tasks: Pitfalls and improved estimators. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 71(6), 1219–1227. doi:10.3758/App.71.6.1219.
46.
van der MeerA. L. H. (1997). Visual guidance of passing under a barrier. Early Development and Parenting, 6, 149–157.
47.
von CastellC., OberfeldD., & HechtH. (2014). The effect of furnishing on perceived spatial dimensions and spaciousness of interior space. PLOS One, 9(11). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113267
48.
WeberE. H. (1846). Der Tastsinn und das Gemeingefühl. In WagnerR. (Ed.), Handwörterbuch der Physiologie (Vol. III/2, pp. 481-596). Braunschweig: Vieweg.
YeshurunY., CarrascoM., & MaloneyL. T. (2008). Bias and sensitivity in two-interval forced choice procedures: Tests of the difference model. Vision Research, 48(17), 1837–1851. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2008.05.008.
