Abstract
The apparent size of squares was determined as a function of physical area and of surface complexity using the method of magnitude estimation. Apparent area increases as a power function of physical area with a slope of about 0.90. The judged areas also increased as a function of complexity of patterns upon the surface, the most complex surfaces being judged approximately 30% larger than the most simple surfaces.
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This study was supported in part by GrantGB-8412 from the National Science Foundation and Grant NINDB-NB-039S0-07 from the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
The second author was a graduate student in the Syracuse University School of Architecture when the experiments were performed.
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Verrillo, R.T., Graeff, C.K. The influence of surface complexity on judgments of area. Perception & Psychophysics 7, 289–290 (1970). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210168
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210168