Cite as:
Banks M S, Girshick A, Alvarez A, 2007, "Partial perceptual invariance for pictures viewed at different positions" Perception 36 ECVP Abstract Supplement

Partial perceptual invariance for pictures viewed at different positions

M S Banks, A Girshick, A Alvarez

Pictures viewed from the center of projection (CoP) generate the same retinal image as the original scene, so the perceived and original layouts are similar. When pictures are viewed from other locations, the retinal image specifies different layouts, but we normally do not notice the changes. We investigated the mechanism underlying this perceptual invariance, using pictured hinges. When viewers looked at the pictures monocularly through a pinhole and could not determine the orientation of the picture surface, perceptual invariance was not observed. When viewers looked binocularly without pinholes, partial invariance was observed. The amount of invariance was critically dependent on the orientation of the picture contents relative to the picture surface: less invariance when the contents were perpendicular to the surface. We also investigated how the partial invariance was achieved and found that the perceived orientation of the picture surface was critical. We discuss the relevance of these findings to several aspects of perceiving information in visual displays.

[Supported by NSF.]

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