Relative distance judgments of familiar and unfamiliar objects viewed under representatively natural conditions

Carlson and Tassone (1971) reported that an object of familiar size viewed at an appreciable distance is perceived to be more distant than an unfamiliar object. Six experiments were designed to examine this effect. The results indicated that the effect is not dependent on Carlson and Tassone's method for assessing perceived relative distance; it occurs at some minimum viewing distance; it is unlikely to be caused by stimulus attributes confounded with the familiar versus unfamiliar size dichotomy; appears to be specific to judgments of the familiar object itself; and it does not occur if the familiar and unfamiliar objects have a common reference target. These findings are discussed with respect to the issue of whether familiar size influences perceived distance as distinct from influencing judgments of distance.