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The Role of Visual Information in Body Size Estimation.
Anne Thaler1, Michael N Geuss1, Betty J Mohler1
1Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.
I-Perception
|September 12, 2018
Summary
Visual body perception influences body width estimates, with hip and head width consistently overestimated. This overestimation appears body-specific, persisting even without visual feedback.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Body Perception
Background:
- Conscious representation of physical appearance is crucial for daily functioning.
- Understanding body perception and size estimation is key to cognitive science.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if different visual experiences of the body affect body width estimations.
- To determine if body width overestimation is body-specific or a general metric bias.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Compared body part width estimates (foot, hips, shoulders, head) under no visual access, mirror feedback, and first-person visual conditions.
- Experiment 2: Assessed object width estimations with and without mirror feedback to differentiate body-specific effects from general biases.
Main Results:
- No significant influence of viewing condition on body part width estimates was found.
- Consistent overestimation of body part widths, particularly hips and head, was observed.
- Object width overestimation occurred with mirror feedback compared to direct viewing, but only at shoulder and head height.
Conclusions:
- Body part width overestimation is at least partially body-specific.
- This overestimation occurs irrespective of the visual information available about one's own body.
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