Judgments of natural and anomalous trajectories in the presence and absence of motion

Recent studies have shown that many people demonstrate erroneous beliefs about motion when asked to predict the trajectories of objects. The present experiments examine whether people can select as correct natural trajectories over anomalous ones when presented with the actual on-going event (motion condition) or static representations of the event (no-motion condition). McCloskey's curved tube problem was used as the event. Results indicate that adults benefit from the motion information in these stimuli, choosing the correct path more often in the motion condition. Men performed better than women in both conditions; this gender effect could not be attributed to formal instruction in physics. Only in the no-motion condition did any men prefer a path which reflected an impetus model of motion. Some women chose a curvilinear path in the motion condition, and in the no-motion condition the curvilinear path was their most often selected alternative. Fifth-grade children demonstrated no effect for gender and their path preferences resembled those of adult males. Children's responses failed to demonstrate a preference for those curvilinear paths which reflect an impetus-based approach to the problem. Adults' performance in the no-motion condition was not enhanced by instructions to employ mental imagery of the event.

The development of infant sensitivity to biomechanical motions

3 experiments were conducted to examine infant sensitivity at 20, 30, and 36 weeks of age to the 3-dimensional structure of a human form specified through biomechanical motions. All 3 experiments manipulated occlusion information in computer-generated arrays of point-lights moving as if attached to the major joints and head of a person walking. These displays are readily recognized as persons by adults when occlusion information is present, but not when it is absent or inconsistent with the implicit structure of the human body. Converging findings from Experiments 1 and 2 suggested that 36-week-old infants were sensitive to the presence of occlusion information in point-light walker displays; neither 20- nor 30-week-old infants showed any sensitivity to this information. The results of Experiment 3 revealed further that 36-week-old infants were sensitive to whether or not the pattern of occlusion was consistent with the implicit form of the human body, but only when the displays were presented in an upright orientation. These findings are interpreted as suggesting that infants, by 36 weeks of age, are extracting fundamental properties necessary for interpreting a point-light display as a person.

Judgments of natural and anomalous trajectories in the presence and absence of motion

Recent studies have shown that many people demonstrate erroneous beliefs about motion when asked to predict the trajectories of objects. The present experiments examine whether people can select as correct natural trajectories over anomalous ones when presented with the actual on-going event (motion condition) or static representations of the event (no-motion condition). McCloskey's curved tube problem was used as the event. Results indicate that adults benefit from the motion information in these stimuli, choosing the correct path more often in the motion condition. Men performed better than women in both conditions; this gender effect could not be attributed to formal instruction in physics. Only in the no-motion condition did any men prefer a path which reflected an impetus model of motion. Some women chose a curvilinear path in the motion condition, and in the no-motion condition the curvilinear path was their most often selected alternative. Fifth-grade children demonstrated no effect for gender and their path preferences resembled those of adult males. Children's responses failed to demonstrate a preference for those curvilinear paths which reflect an impetus-based approach to the problem. Adults' performance in the no-motion condition was not enhanced by instructions to employ mental imagery of the event.

The development of sensitivity to causally relevant dynamic information

The present study examined whether younger observers (kindergartners, second graders, and fourth graders) could extract relative weight information from collisions and also lifting events, and if they could judge whether collisions were natural (i.e., momentum conserving) or anomalous (non-momentum conserving). 20 children at each age and 20 adults viewed videotapes of 8 collisions (4 natural, 4 anomalous) and 6 sequences of lifting events. Observers also viewed sequences of static images taken from these events. Observers at all grade levels were able to reliably judge relative weight in both collisions and lifting events, and could differentiate between natural and anomalous collisions. Performance was much poorer when static sequences of the events were viewed, especially for the young children. A consistent age trend was noted across tasks: adults performed better than second and fourth graders who, in turn, performed better than kindergartners. In addition, there was evidence that younger children were differentially aided when the kinematics of the event made the kinetics more pronounced.

Efferent factors in natural event perception can be rationalized and verified: a reply to Turvey and Solomon

Contrary to the view that ambient light information unequivocally specifies phenomenal events, recent research suggests that natural event perception is determined by processes that pick up and combine visual and motor information. This thesis is challenged by Turvey and Solomon (1984). The present article responds to their misgivings by elaborating empirical methods and theoretical arguments of past work. A control experiment is also presented on pointing measurements of distance illusions related to esophoric shifts of eye convergence that are induced by near work. The soundness of both the empirical methodology and the theoretical arguments in support of the original thesis is upheld.

Infant sensitivity to figural coherence in biomechanical motions

Two experiments assessed infant sensitivity to figural coherence in point-light displays moving as if attached to the major joints of a walking person. Experiment 1 tested whether 3- and 5-month-old infants could discriminate between upright and inverted versions of the walker in both moving and static displays. Using an infant-control habituation paradigm, it was found that both ages discriminated the moving but not the static displays. Experiment 2 was designed to clarify whether or not structural invariants were extracted from these displays. The results revealed that (1) moving point-light displays with equivalent motions but different topographic relations were discriminated while (2) static versions were not, and (3) arrays that varied in the amount of motion present in different portions of the display were also not discriminated. These results are interpreted as indicating that young infants are sensitive to figural coherence in displays of biomechanical motion.

Induced esophoric shifts in eye convergence and illusory distance in reduced and structured viewing conditions

Two experiments measured distance judgments in reduced and structured viewing conditions before and after induced phoria. Experiment 1 induced phoria shifts with three 5-min. intervals of close handwork (i.e., needle threading) that had naturalistic characteristics of observers (a) choosing their own viewing distance, (b) moving their heads freely, and (c) viewing in a well-illuminated, structured environment. The handwork induced a 1.20-diopter esophoric shift and a 1.22-cm overestimation of distance under reduced test conditions. The handwork induced no measurable illusion under structured viewing conditions. Experiment 2 induced phoria shifts with 10 min. of fixation on a target 11 cm away. This procedure induced a 4.65-diopter esophoric shift, a 6.34-cm overestimation of distance in reduced conditions, and a 2.31-cm overestimation of distance in structured conditions. We argue that visual and motor information interact to determine perceptions and that induced esophoric shifts in everyday situations may shape the nature of that interaction.

Induced esophoric shifts in eye convergence and illusory distance in reduced and structured viewing conditions

Two experiments measured distance judgments in reduced and structured viewing conditions before and after induced phoria. Experiment 1 induced phoria shifts with three 5-min. intervals of close handwork (i.e., needle threading) that had naturalistic characteristics of observers (a) choosing their own viewing distance, (b) moving their heads freely, and (c) viewing in a well-illuminated, structured environment. The handwork induced a 1.20-diopter esophoric shift and a 1.22-cm overestimation of distance under reduced test conditions. The handwork induced no measurable illusion under structured viewing conditions. Experiment 2 induced phoria shifts with 10 min. of fixation on a target 11 cm away. This procedure induced a 4.65-diopter esophoric shift, a 6.34-cm overestimation of distance in reduced conditions, and a 2.31-cm overestimation of distance in structured conditions. We argue that visual and motor information interact to determine perceptions and that induced esophoric shifts in everyday situations may shape the nature of that interaction.

An invariant for wheel-generated motions and the logic of its determination

Observers appear to perceive the paths of abstract centers of point-light configurations in making judgments about movement. For configurations on rolling wheels a metric was derived that described the relative vertical motion of this point. It was hypothesized that the smaller the metric the more the stimulus should appear to move in a wheel-like manner with linear translation. In two experiments observers viewed pairs of stimuli and were asked to select either the event that appeared most wheel-like or the one that hopped the most. Viewers consistently selected the stimulus with the smaller metric as being more wheel-like, with a frequency that increased with the difference between metrics. The inverse of this pattern was found for those observers requested to select the stimulus that hopped most. In a second set of two experiments observers drew the translational paths of these stimuli. Their drawings corresponded to the motion paths of configural centroids. Together, these results strongly suggest that observers perceive the translational component of the motion of the configurations as the path described by their centroids, or geometric centers. We propose that this description of the stimulus event is determined by the logical ordering of information extraction provided by the perceptural system, and discuss this logic and cases where it seems evident.

Perception of wheel-generated motions

Data are presented on an old and familiar Gestalt demonstration--perceiving wheel-generated motions--in which the perceived motions of a rolling wheel are shown not to be obviously derived from the motions of the parts. The history of study of this phenomenon is presented, and contradictions in the literature are noted. The focus for experimentation is on the contrasting approaches found in Johansson's perceptual vector analysis and Wallach's arguments for the priority of object-relative displacement in the extraction of invariants. Johansson's approach asserts that common vectors are extracted from moving events first, whereas Wallach asserts that the motion of objects relative to each other is first. These two approaches yield different predictions about what ought to be seen when different configurations are viewed in rotation. In five experiments viewers rated how wheellike the movement of various point-light systems attached to a rolling wheel appeared to be. Results support Wallach's views over Johansson's. Viewer judgments of goodness in wheellike motion correspond highly with a mathematical description of the parameters of cycloidal motion for the geometric center of any system of lights on a rolling wheel. This specification can be made only after the extraction of object-relative displacement information. Number of lights and order of symmetry influence viewer judgments to a much lesser degree, and placement of a light at the wheel's center matters not at all.

Perception of wheel-generated motions

Data are presented on an old and familiar Gestalt demonstration--perceiving wheel-generated motions--in which the perceived motions of a rolling wheel are shown not to be obviously derived from the motions of the parts. The history of study of this phenomenon is presented, and contradictions in the literature are noted. The focus for experimentation is on the contrasting approaches found in Johansson's perceptual vector analysis and Wallach's arguments for the priority of object-relative displacement in the extraction of invariants. Johansson's approach asserts that common vectors are extracted from moving events first, whereas Wallach asserts that the motion of objects relative to each other is first. These two approaches yield different predictions about what ought to be seen when different configurations are viewed in rotation. In five experiments viewers rated how wheellike the movement of various point-light systems attached to a rolling wheel appeared to be. Results support Wallach's views over Johansson's. Viewer judgments of goodness in wheellike motion correspond highly with a mathematical description of the parameters of cycloidal motion for the geometric center of any system of lights on a rolling wheel. This specification can be made only after the extraction of object-relative displacement information. Number of lights and order of symmetry influence viewer judgments to a much lesser degree, and placement of a light at the wheel's center matters not at all.