The Visual Perception of Large-Scale Distances Outdoors

The ability of 32 younger (ages ranged from 19 to 32 years) and older adults (ages ranged from 65 to 83 years) to visually perceive outdoor distances was evaluated; we used the method of equal-appearing intervals. On any given trial, the observers adjusted five distance intervals in depth so that they all appeared equivalent in magnitude (and equal to a standard initial egocentric distance of 6 m). The judgments of approximately two thirds of the younger and older observers exhibited varying degrees of perceptual compression, while those of the remaining one third were essentially accurate. Unlike a number of previous studies that evaluated the perception of shorter distances, no significant effects of age were obtained in the current experiment. In particular, there were no significant effects of age upon either accuracy or precision. The ability of human observers to evaluate large-scale distances outdoors is well maintained with increasing age.