Abstract
Effects of visual angle and convergence upon the perceived sizes and perceived distances of a familiar object (playing card) and a nonrepresentational object (blank white card) were investigated by means of a projector stereoscope with polarizing filters. The results obtained with six Ss indicated that size estimates increased nearly proportionally as the visual angle increased and decreased nearly linearly as the convergence increased. Distance estimates decreased nearly linearly as either the visual angle or the convergence increased. The ratio of the size estimate to the distance estimate for a given visual angle was almost constant irrespective of convergence. In this sense, the size-distance invariance hypothesis held. No clear effect of familiarity was found. Partial correlations were used to discriminate direct and indirect causal relationships between the stimulus variables and perceptual estimates. Both perceived size and perceived distance were found to be determined directly by the two stimulus variables, but to be mutually related only indirectly.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baird, J. C. Retinal and assumed size cues as determinants of size and distance perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1963, 66, 155–162.
Biersdorf. W. R., Ohwaki. S., & Kozil, D. J. The effect of instructions and oculomotor adjustments on apparent size. American Journal of Psychology, 1963, 76, 1–17.
Blalock, H. M. Four-variable causal models and partial correlations. American Journal of Sociology, 1962, 68, 182–194.
Epstein, W. The known-size-apparent-distance hypothesis. American Journal of Psychology, 1961, 74, 333–346.
Epstein, W., & Landauer, A. A. Size and distance judgments under reduced conditions of viewing. Perception & Psychophysics, 1969, 6, 269–272.
Epstein, W., Park, J., & Casey. A. The current status of the size-distance hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 1961, 58. 491–514.
Folev. J. M. Depth, size and distance in stereoscopic vision. Perception & Psychophysics. 1968, 3, 265–274.
Gogel, W. C. Convergence as a cue to absolute distance. Journal of Psychology, 1961a, 52, 287–301.
Gogel, W. C. Convergence as a cue to perceived distance of object in a binocular configuration. Journal of Psychology, 1961b, 52, 303–315.
Gogel, W. C. Convergence as a determiner of perceived absolute size. Journal of Psychology. 1962a, 53, 91–104.
Gogel, W. C. The effect of convergence on perceived size and distance. Journal of Psychology. 1962b, 53, 475–489.
Gogel, W. C. The sensing of retinal size. Vision Research, 1969, 9, 1079–1094.
Gogel, W. C. The validity of the size-distance invariance hypothesis with cue reduction. Perception & Psychophysics, 1971, 9, 92–94.
Gogel, W. C., & Sturm, R. D. Directional separation and the size cue to distance. Psychologische Forschung, 1971, 35, 57–80.
Heinemann, E. G., Tulving, E., & Nachmias, J. The effect of oculomotor adjustments on apparent size. American Journal of Psychology, 1959, 72, 32–45.
Hermans, T. G. The relationship of convergence and elevation changes to judgments of size. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1954, 48, 204–208.
Ittelson, W. H. Size as a cue to distance: Static localization. American Journal of Psychology, 1951a, 64, 54–67.
Ittelson, W. H. The constancies in perceptual theory. Psychological Review, 1951b, 58, 285–294.
Kilpatrick, F. P., & Ittelson, W. H. The size-distance invariance hypothesis. Psychological Review, 1953, 60, 223–231.
Landauer, A. A., & Epstein, W. Does retinal size have a unique correlate in perceived size? Perception & Psychophysics, 1969, 6, 273–275.
Lawson, R. B., & Gulick, W. L. Apparent size and distance in stereoscopic vision. In J. C. Baird (Ed.),Human space perception: Proceedings of the Dartmouth Conference. Psychonomic Monograph Supplements, 1970, 3, 193-200.
Leibowitz, H., & Moore, D. Role of changes in accommodation and convergence in the perception of size. Journal of the Optical Society of America, 1966, 56, 1120–1123.
Lie, I. Convergence as a cue to perceived size and distance. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 1965, 6, 109–116.
Ogasawara, J. Perceived size in stereoscopic vision. In K. Hirose (Ed.),Masuda Hakushi Shaon Shinrigaku Ronbunshu. Tokyo: Iwanami, 1953. Pp. 19–27. (In Japanese)
Ono, H., Mitson, L., & Seabrock, K. Change in convergence and retinal disparities as an explanation for the wallpaper phenomenon. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1971, 91, 1–10.
Oyama, T., & Iwawaki, R. Role of convergence and binocular disparity in size constancy. Psychologische Forschung, 1972, 35, 117–130.
Oyama, T., & Sato, F. Perceived size-ratio in stereoscopic vision as a function of convergence, binocular disparity and luminance. Japanese Psychological Research, 1967, 9, 1–13.
Slack, C. W. Familiar size as a cue to size in the presence of conflicting cues. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1956, 52, 194–198.
Simon, H. A. Spurious correlation: A causal interpretation. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1954, 49, 467–479.
Swenson, H. A. The relative influence of accommodation and convergence in the judgment of distance. Journal of General Psychology, 1932, 7, 360–380.
Wallach, H., & Floor, L. The use of size matching to demonstrate the effectiveness of accommodation and convergence as cues for distance. Perception & Psychophysics, 1971, 10, 423–428.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The author wishes to thank Keiko Ichikawa for her assistance in this study and Professor W. C. Gogel for his critical reading of an early draft of this paper and his many valuable suggestions. A part of this study was reported at the 31st Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association, Tokyo, July 1967.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Oyama, T. Perceived size and perceived distance in stereoscopic vision and an analysis of their causal relations. Perception & Psychophysics 16, 175–181 (1974). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203271
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203271