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Active visuomotor interactions with virtual objects on touchscreens adhere to Weber's law
Aviad Ozana1, Gal Namdar1, Tzvi Ganel2
1Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 8410500, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Psychological Research
|June 17, 2019
Summary
Interactions with virtual objects on touchscreens, unlike real objects, follow Weber's law. This suggests that active manipulation of 2D virtual objects does not utilize the natural, absolute visuomotor control seen with 3D objects.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The functional separation between vision-for-action and vision-for-perception is well-established for real, three-dimensional (3D) objects.
- Grasping movements towards 2D objects deviate from this, adhering to Weber's law, suggesting less efficient size processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether active, typical touchscreen interactions with 2D virtual objects are processed efficiently and absolutely, potentially violating Weber's law.
- To determine if these interactions mimic the visuomotor control observed with real 3D objects.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments involving participants actively interacting with 2D virtual objects on a touchscreen.
- Experiment 1: Swiping gestures to move objects.
- Experiment 2 & 3: Enlarging object sizes through direct manipulation.
Main Results:
- Across all experiments, the resolution of grip aperture decreased as the target object size increased.
- These results consistently adhered to Weber's law, indicating relative size processing.
Conclusions:
- Active interactions with 2D virtual objects on touchscreens do not follow the absolute visuomotor control typical of real objects.
- The findings suggest that current touchscreen interactions with virtual objects are processed in a manner consistent with Weber's law, not natural absolute control.