A continuing need in psychological appraisal is for instruments free of educational, linguistic, or experiential bias. The perception of form and geometric properties of figures (e.g., length, width, and area) is a universal phenomenon and hence an inviting domain for study. A group test of accuracy of visual perception was developed, utilizing 25 illusions (e.g., those of Baldwin, Delbouf, Mueller-Lyer, Poggendorff, Ponzo, and Sander) and 5 non-illusions, presented by means of lantern slides. In college (N = 205) and grade school (N = 732) samples, acceptable internal reliability was demonstrated, and in the grade school sample an age-developmental gradient (r = .25) was discernible. The 30-item Perceptual Acuity Test is brief (testing time 20 min.), easy to administer, and favorably received by most respondents.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AmmonsC. H.AmmonsR. B.Perspective reversal as affected by physical characteristics of Necker cube drawings. Proceedings of the Montana Academy of Sciences, 1963, 23, 287–302.
2.
BinetA.Le mesure des illusions visuelles chez les enfants. Revue Philosophique, 1895, 40, 11–25.
3.
BoringE. G.A history of experimental psychology. New York: Appleton-Century, 1929.
4.
BoringE. G.Sensation and perception in the history of experimental psychology. New York: Appleton-Century, 1942.
5.
CrutchfieldR. S.WoodworthD. G.AlbrechtR. E.Perceptual performance and the effective person. Lackland Air Force Base, Tex.: Personnel Laboratory, Wright Air Development Center, 1958. (Techn. Note WADC-TN-58-60, ASTIA No. 151039).
6.
GardnerR. W.Cognitive controls of attention deployment as determinants of visual illusions. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1961, 62, 120–127.
7.
GardnerR. W.LongR. I.Errors of the standard and illusion effects with L-shaped figures. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1960, 10, 107–109.
8.
GardnerR. W.LongR. I.Selective attention and the Mueller-Lyer illusion. Psychological Record, 1961, 11, 317–320.
9.
GregoryR. L.Constancy and the geometric illusions. Nature, 1965, 206, 744–745. (a).
10.
GregoryR. L.Seeing in depth. Nature, 1965, 207, 16–17. (b).
11.
GregoryR. L.Eye and brain, the psychology of seeing. London: World Univer. Library, 1966.
12.
HanleyC.ZerbolioD. J.Developmental changes in five illusions measured by the up-and-down method. Child Development, 1965, 36, 437–452.
13.
HenriV.Illusions et hallucinations. L'Annee Psychologique, 1896, 3, 495–513.
14.
HicksG. D.RiversW. H. R.The illusion of compared horizontal and vertical lines. British Journal of Psychology, 1906, 2, 243–260.
15.
ImmergluckL.Resistance to an optical illusion, figural after-effects, and field dependence. Psychonomic Science, 1966, 6, 281–282.
16.
JahodaG.Geometric illusions and environment: A study in Ghana. British Journal of Psychology, 1966, 57, 193–199.
17.
JastrowJ.A study of Zollner's figures and other related figures. American Journal of Psychology, 1891, 4, 381–398.
18.
JuddC. H.A study of geometic illusions. Psychological Review, 1899, 6, 241–261.
19.
LeibowitzH.Some visual illusions and the mechanisms of size perception. Acta Psychologica, 1961, 19, 844–845.
20.
LeibowitzH. W.Visual perception. New York: Macmillan, 1965.
21.
LeibowitzH.HeiselM.L'evolution de l'illusion de Ponzo en fonction de l'age. Archives de Psychologie (Geneva), 1958, 36, 328–331.
22.
LuckieshM.Visual illusions, their causes, characteristics, and applications. New York: Van Nostrand, 1922.
23.
McGurkE.Susceptibility to visual illusions. Journal of Psychology, 1965, 61, 127–143.
24.
PiagetP.Les mecanismes perceptifs. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1961.
25.
PiagetP.Le developpement des perceptions en fonction de l'age. In FraisseP.PiagetJ. (Eds.), Traite de psychologie experimentale. VI. La perception. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1963.
26.
PieronH.L'illusion de Mueller-Lyer et son double mecanisme. Revue Philosophique, 1911, 71, 245–284.
27.
RiversW. H. R.Vision. In HaddonA. C. (Ed.), Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to the Torres Straits. Vol. 2, Part I. Cambridge, Eng.: The Univer. Press, 1901.
28.
RiversW. H. R.Observations on the senses of the Todas. British Journal of Psychology, 1905, 1, 321–396.
