Where was I? Apparent onset location for moving elements is distorted following adaptation to motion P Miller1, D H Arnold2 |
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1School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Australia |
| Past research has shown that humans make reliable errors in judging the positions of moving objects. In the Fröhlich effect, for instance, the apparent onset location of a suddenly appearing moving object seems advanced along its trajectory of motion. We have found that this effect is exaggerated for tests following adaptation to faster motion in the same direction. Neither opposite directional adaptation nor adaptation to slower movement had any impact, and the effect could not be attributed to delayed stimulus detection. These data are somewhat counter-intuitive, as adaptation to fast motion reduced apparent test speeds, and yet the positional distortion was exaggerated. These data are consistent with judgments of both perceived speed and apparent onset location reflecting weighted contributions from temporally low and band-pass mechanisms. Low-pass mechanisms are involved in signaling slow-movement (or stasis) and are characterized by protracted integration times, whereas band-pass mechanisms display the reverse contingencies. Hence the proportional contribution of low-pass mechanisms can be enhanced via adapting band-pass mechanisms through exposure to fast movement. This could result in apparently slowed movement and enhanced positional distortions, if the latter reflect the time taken to estimate the position of a moving object via positional averaging. |
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