The effects of familiar size and object trajectories on time-to-contact judgements

Many interceptive actions involve interactions with objects that are familiar to the observer and have known sizes. Two experiments investigated how known size influences observers' perception of time-to-contact (T(c)). Participants made T(c) judgements of objects that were either ambiguously sized, standard-size in identity/familiarity, or off-size in identity/familiarity, and simulated as approaching on linear trajectories (Experiment 1), or linear versus parabolic trajectories (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, T(c) judgements were influenced by the size of the object in the three object identity/familiarity conditions; the greatest size effect occurred in the off-size condition compared to the ambiguous size and standard-size conditions. The results of Experiment 2 replicated these results and found that size effects were not reduced with displays simulating parabolic trajectories, that is, displays simulating ecologically valid free-falling objects. Taken together, the finding that T(c) judgements are influenced by object identity/familiarity does not provide support for the tau hypothesis, nor the hypothesis that T(c) judgements are based solely on optic expansion rates. However, the results do provide support for the proposition that T(c) judgements are based on a combination of rate of retinal image expansion and object identity/familiarity information, the latter information requiring observers to have prior experience with, or knowledge about, the objects.