Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026
07:43
A Naturalistic Setup for Presenting Real People and Live Actions in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Studies
Published on: August 4, 2023
Multimodally specified energy expenditure and action-based distance judgments
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|June 26, 2013
Summary
Perceived walking distance is influenced by how much energy is expended. Researchers found that both physical effort and visual cues in virtual reality affect distance judgments.
Area of Science:
- Human perception
- Virtual reality environments
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Perceived self-motion is affected by optic flow and walking rates.
- Verbal distance reports correlate with estimated energy expenditure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how multimodally specified energy expenditure (MSEE) influences action-based distance judgments.
- To integrate findings on optic flow, walking rate, and energy expenditure in virtual reality.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a virtual-reality treadmill to manipulate MSEE.
- Varied treadmill speed, grade, and virtual optic flow rate to alter energy expenditure and optical distance.
- Measured energy expenditure via oxygen consumption.
Main Results:
- All three manipulations of MSEE (walking rate, grade, optic flow) affected distance reports.
- The influence of these factors on distance judgments was in predicted directions and to equivalent degrees.
Conclusions:
- Multimodal sensory information regarding energy expenditure significantly impacts perceived walking distance.
- Virtual reality is a viable tool for studying the complex interplay of sensory inputs in distance perception.
