Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision01:15

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.
Gestalt Principles of Perception01:21

Gestalt Principles of Perception

Gestalt principles provide a framework for understanding how humans perceive objects as unified wholes within their context. These principles are essential in explaining the cognitive processes that make sense of complex visual stimuli by organizing them into coherent groups. One fundamental principle is proximity, which posits that objects located close to each other are perceived as a collective group. For instance, when dots are positioned near one another, the visual system interprets them...
Color Vision01:24

Color Vision

Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.
Perceptual Constancy01:12

Perceptual Constancy

Perceptual constancy is the ability to recognize that objects remain consistent and unchanged even when their appearance varies due to changes in sensory input. There are four main types of perceptual constancy: size constancy, shape constancy, color constancy, and brightness constancy.
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...
Visual Agnosia01:12

Visual Agnosia

Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round end"...
Vision01:24

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Re-assessing the role of culture on the visual orientation perception of the rod and frame test.

PloS one·2022
Same author

Is the Vertical-Horizontal Illusion a Byproduct of the Environmental Vertical Illusion?

Evolutionary psychology : an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior·2020
Same author

Limited generalization with varied, as compared to specific, practice in short-term motor learning.

Acta psychologica·2017
Same author

Long-term motor learning: Effects of varied and specific practice.

Vision research·2017
Same author

Evolved navigation illusion provides universal human perception measure.

Journal of vision·2017
Same author

Visual field dependence as a navigational strategy.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2014
Same journal

Corrigendum to "Productivity matters for the neural processing of novel words, but not existing ones" Cognition Volume 274 (2026) 106593.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Investigating the origins of partisanship: What motivates children to preferentially endorse their ingroups' claims?

Cognition·2026
Same journal

People make graded judgments about the inconceivable.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

The self as an image: Appearance and belief in visual representations of one's own face.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Corrigendum to 'Consonant, vowel, and tone cues in early wordform recognition: Evidence from Cantonese-learning infants' [Cognition 275 (2026) 106624].

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Identifying distinct sources of whole number interference in children's decimal comparison: the role of numerical magnitude and inhibitory control.

Cognition·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
09:49

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

Evolved navigation theory and horizontal visual illusions.

Russell E Jackson1, Chéla R Willey

  • 1Psychology Department, California State University San Marcos, USA. rjackson@csusm.edu

Cognition
|December 1, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Navigating environments with a risk of falling causes people to overestimate distances. This evolved navigation phenomenon impacts everyday visual perception and understanding of spatial cognition.

More Related Videos

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions
07:09

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Published on: May 2, 2019

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
07:12

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
09:49

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions
07:09

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Published on: May 2, 2019

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
07:12

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

Area of Science:

  • Visual Cognition
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Environmental Psychology

Background:

  • Environmental perception is crucial for vertebrate behavior and the foundation of experimental psychology.
  • Navigation costs, like encumbrance, can influence environmental perception, potentially leading to distance overestimation.
  • Limited understanding exists regarding real-world navigation costs and their evolutionary basis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how real-world navigation costs, specifically the risk of falling, affect environmental perception.
  • To explore the evolutionary underpinnings of navigation-induced perceptual distortions.
  • To quantify the magnitude of distance overestimation caused by falling risk in naturalistic settings.

Main Methods:

  • Manipulated commonly navigated surfaces to introduce a non-intuitive cost based on evolved navigation theory.
  • Assessed observers' perception of horizontal distances in realistic settings under varying degrees of falling risk.
  • Employed a between-subjects design where participants were unaware of the manipulation.

Main Results:

  • Observers unknowingly overestimated horizontal distances when a risk of falling was present.
  • The degree of distance overestimation correlated directly with the perceived risk of falling.
  • The study revealed significant, previously undocumented, large-magnitude visual illusions in everyday environments.

Conclusions:

  • Falling risk is a potent factor influencing spatial perception and distance judgment in real-world navigation.
  • These findings support evolutionary theories of navigation and visual cognition.
  • The results have implications for understanding human environmental perception and spatial awareness.