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Emmert's law in the Ames room
1Department of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
Perception
|January 1, 1990
Summary
The Ames room illusion challenges indirect perception theories. This study found Emmert's law may not simply link afterimage size to viewing distance, suggesting similar perceptual processes for real and imagined objects.
Area of Science:
- Visual Perception
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psychophysics
Background:
- The Ames distorted room illusion demonstrates how perceived object size deviates from objective size, supporting indirect perception arguments.
- Emmert's law describes the relationship between the apparent size of afterimages and viewing distance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate Emmert's law within the context of the Ames room's altered distance perception.
- To compare size judgments of afterimages in the Ames room with control conditions.
Main Methods:
- Participants judged the size of afterimages projected within an Ames room.
- Control conditions replicated actual and apparent afterimage projection distances.
Main Results:
- Emmert's law did not show a simple geometric relationship between proximal image size and actual viewing distance in the Ames room.
- Afterimage size judgments in the Ames room were comparable to judgments of 'real world' objects.
Conclusions:
- The Ames room illusion impacts the applicability of Emmert's law.
- Perceptual mechanisms for judging afterimage size may align with those for real-world object size perception.