Analysis of misperceived observer motion during simulated eye rotations

In experiments testing the accuracy of human heading judgments, subjects often misperceive their motion when viewing a display that simulates motion along a straight line path accompanied by an eye movement. Rather than perceiving motion on a straight line, observers often reported that they seemed to be moving along a curved path. This paper presents a mathematical basis for this curved path perception, and shows how this perception can be related to the responses of subjects in heading experiments.