Basic characteristics of human's distance estimation

It is assumed that the relationship between the judged and the actual magnitudes reflects the nature of transformation applied by the perceptual system in processing the stimulus inputs. The differences in exponents between memory and perception conditions when estimating distance between two spots by only viewing has been pointed out by a few researchers. It is of interest to explore whether this difference can be observed when estimating distance by travelling the straight paths between two spots. The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of distance estimation under a moving situation, and confirm whether the perception-memory differences in exponents are observed. The characteristics of distance estimation when actually travelling the paths seem to be different from that under a viewing condition in which the subjects view the two predetermined spots from an observation point and estimate the straight distance between two spots. The data obtained in this research provides a new finding on the basic characteristics of human's distance estimation. Future research should confirm the finding under more realistic (including the ascent and descent or closed paths) moving situations.