Depth and Size Cues

Perspective Convergence

Two parallel lines are perceived to come closer together as the distance increases from the observer. As can be seen in this picture, the space between the two parallel yellow lines decreases as the perceiver sees the lines from a distance. This pictorial cue aids in an individual's perception of depth.

Texture Gradient

It can be observed from this picture that the tiles seem to group closer together as the distance increases from the observer. Although the tiles are all of identical size, and are spaced and arranged in the same way, the further tiles appear to be more closely packed together. This pictorial cue helps a perceiver tell the depth of an object from where he or she views it.

Relative Height

An observer can tell which of the two lamp posts is farther from his or her position using relative height. In this perception cue, bases of objects are indicators of distance. Specifically, when below the horizon, an object with a base higher than the base of another object is perceived to be more distant from where the observer is situated. 

Convergence

Convergence is an occulomotor cue that gives an observer information on the distance of the object being focused on. When the object being attended to nears the eyes, the observer can feel the inward movement of their eyes when trying to maintain focus on the object.

Occlusion

This picture shows a scene where the fence is partially obscuring the bust sculpture of Jose Rizal. This may then indicate that the fence is front of the sculpture because of the figure being partially blocked. The cue of occlusion only indicates relative distance, as the absolute distance between the fence and the bust cannot be determined from the picture.

Familiar Size

  

In this picture, a hand so big that it manages to wrap around a person can be seen. In reality however, an observer would be able to discern that the hand is not actually holding the person, rather it is simply closer to the observer's field of view, which creates this illusion. More importantly, the observed possesses previous knowledge that hands are a lot smaller than a person's torso, and that one hand cannot possibly restrain a person completely. Knowing information and being familiar about the sizes of objects based on perceptual experiences is categorized as a perceptual cue called Familiar Size.

Relative Size 

In this picture, one can see that the girl in red appears smaller than the girl wearing white. This means that the "smaller" girl takes up less of an observer's field of view; however, based on previous knowledge, we know that the "smaller" girl is in fact almost the same height as, or even taller than the "taller" girl. Despite knowing that the girls are not of equal height, the difference in the distances they are standing at makes the information unclear.

Visual Angle

Although this picture may also be another example of the cue of Familiar Size, it may also demonstrate a principle in size perception known as the visual angle. The visual angle depends on both the size of the object and its distance from the observer. Because closer objects have a larger visual angle, they will occupy a larger area in an observer's field of vision. So even with the knowledge that a hand cannot possibly be large enough for a person's entire body to rest on, because they both have the same visual angle, it now appears that the nearer hand is of an appropriate size to able to support the farther person.

Deletion and Accretion

This video clip shows that as the observer moves sideways across a scene, some objects become covered or obscured, which is called deletion, while other objects become uncovered and come into view, or accretion. It is a form of a motion-produced cue that occurs when overlapping surfaces appear to move relative to one another. So as the observer moves across the hall, the blackboard and teacher's desk initially come into view. As the observer continues moving across, the armchairs then come into view, while the blackboard and desk are no longer to be seen.

 Source: www.cameras.about.com

  Atmospheric Perspective

In this picture of the Taal Volcano, one can see that the volcano itself and the mountain behind it appears less sharp than the weeds near the bottom of the picture. The mountain behind the volcano also appears to have a bluish tint to it. Because observers look through more particles and perhaps fog in trying to view the rather distant mountain, it appears less sharp and bluish.

The color makes it pop!

Have you ever experienced looking at a retail display and notice the color design scheme more than the clothes themselves? I did. A myriad of times, in fact. Most often than not, if I perceive the store design pleasing to the eyes or at par with my color preference, it “color blinds” me with its attention-getting power and sweeps me off my feet. As a result, I stay longer browsing through their pieces and eventually purchase a few on the rack.

The effects of colors have been widely studied in the areas of marketing communications. Retailers have traditionally used color to project an image or to create a desired atmosphere. However, this influence does not end here. In fact, the use of colors even puts customers in a buying mood. In retail store design, color is used to attract or to draw the customer and the customer’s attention. Color research also suggests that some colors may have the power to evoke an approach tendency.

A fun and vibrant Forever 21 store in San Francisco, CA.

                                          

A number of physiological researches suggest that the color red is an arousing color with significant color effects for absolute conductance and skin conductance (GSR). Psychological color research also explains why red seems to physically stimulate the brain. High wavelength colors (red, orange and yellow) possess strong excitation potential, high arousal qualities, and they induce elated mood states. For individual preferences, warm color dominant people (red and yellow) are seen to be more visually oriented than cool color dominants who have more sedated mood states, are more selective in response to stimuli, and are less distracted with visual cues.

RED MEANS YES!

In a research by Bellizi, Crowley and Hasty (1983), a laboratory experiment was conducted and revealed that female subjects, regardless of color preferences, are physically drawn to warm colors more (red and yellow) than cool colors (blue and green). Thus, for physically drawing customers into a retail store, department, or display area, warm colors seem to be a better choice. However, there exists a limit to the impact of attraction of warm colors. This research reveals that warm colors are seen as colorful yet negative, and bright yet tense. It is also shows that warm colors trigger unplanned impulse purchases. Since warm colors are associated to exhibit a tense feeling, there is a possibility for the buyer to experience an unpleasant shopping experience and may result in premature termination of the shopping trip when customer deliberations are needed. Thus, it is suggested that warm color environments are appropriate for store windows and entrances as well as for unplanned impulse purchases whereas cool colors which are rated as positive, relaxed and favorable are appropriate when customer deliberations are necessary.

Marketing strategists have indeed gone sky high in their research on the color’s influence on visual attraction. Colors, as a matter of fact, have also exhibited their potency when it comes to attracting attention of consumers. This just shows that color design in stores is an essential element that contributes to the spending power of people. So when there comes a time when you have the urge to take out your Visa card for unplanned impulse purchases, ask yourself, “am I color blinded?”

Are you one of them?

Bellizzi, Joseph A., Ayn E. Crowley and Ronald W. Hasty (1983), "The Effects of Color in Store Design," Journal of Retailing, 59 (Spring), 21-45.                                              

...To tell the truth and nothing but the truth

We frequently see in courtroom movie scenes when a witness goes to the platform, stands up and takes an oath “to tell the truth and nothing but the truth” --with the right hand raised up and the left hand on top the Bible. In reality, however, crime witnesses do not accomplish “to tell the truth and nothing but the truth” for they do not achieve full accuracy in their statements – whether consciously or unconsciously. 

When crime witnesses unconsciously display errors in their statements of the crime scene, they might have experienced a psychological term called change blindness. In visual perception, change blindness is a phenomenon that occurs when a person viewing a visual scene apparently fails to detect changes in the scene. Davies & Hine (2007) conducted an experiment with the intention to show the relationship between the eyewitness testimony and change blindness. In the experiment, a two-minute video clip depicted an opportunity theft from a student house. Halfway through the film, the actor playing the burglar changed identity.  A community sample of 80 people (40 men and 40 women) aged 15-65 years volunteered to participate in the study. The sample was randomly subdivided into two conditions – the intentional and incidental condition. Prior to the presentation of the video footage, the intentional condition participants were instructed to watch the film carefully because they would later be asked questions about it, whereas the incidental condition participants were told to watch a film about the dangers of unsecured property. Results have shown that only 31 of the 80 participants reported change (39%). In addition, 65% of the participants in the intentional condition noticed the change, compared with 12.5% of participants in the incidental condition. This explains that greater attention associated with a deliberate memory task would lead to a higher rate of change detection than the participants who were not primed to observe carefully.  In the change blindness scenario, variables such as familiarity of the target person, exposure time, and race demonstrably influence eyewitness identification. This shows that eyewitnesses achieve relatively poor accuracy when it involves unfamiliar people seen in brief encounters. So when eyewitnesses swore they told “tell the truth and nothing but the truth,” you might want to think about that one over again.

Graham Davies, & Sarah Hine. (2007). Change Blindness and Eyewitness Testimony. The Journal of Psychology, 141(4), 423-34.  Retrieved January 17, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1314578911).

MJ was right. It don't matter if you're black or white.

Humans evaluate their surroundings for survival. In the realm of romantic relationships, humans evaluate the opposite sex in correspondence to what they perceive as attractive. Swami, Furnham, and Joshi (2008) investigated the role of skin tone, hair color and hair length in perceptions of women’s physical attractiveness, health and fertility. I'll be focusing on the first (i.e., physical attractiveness) since it's the aspect that is most immediate and directly related to what we have discussed so far, which is vision and visual perception.

In the study, 130 men and 112 women rated 12 line drawings that had variations in three levels of skin tone, two levels of hair color, and two levels of hair length. These phenotypes proved to interact with one another, thus having high correlation. Among the categories, again I'll just be focusing on one (i.e., skin tone), since hair color resulted to have a weak effect on attractiveness. As for hair color, well, no Filipino is naturally blonde so delving deeper into such a category would be pointless when applied to the Philippine context. Anyway, going back to skin tone, it was found in the research that light-toned figures were rated the most positively.

Surprised? Didn't think so. 

The researchers did ensure that there was no variance in ethnic backgrounds by sticking to participants of European Caucasian descent. Such a set-up just goes to show that each of us—or each ethnicity, as far as this study is concerned—has a corresponding preference for perceiving what is attractive. If the British residing in Greater London find brunette, fair-skinned women most attractive, what about the Filipinos in Metro Manila? Would those from Palawan or Cebu or Davao make a difference? What do we Asians—or Pacific Islanders, as others have debated—find physically attractive, in general?

Observing the present, more Filipinos are leaning towards the same preference as that of the participants in the study, particularly that of skin tone. In fact, a survey conducted by Synovate last 2010 highlighted the fact that the Philippines had the highest usage of skin whitening products among the countries included in the survey. According to the results, one out of two women claims to use such products, followed by Hong Kong with 45%, Malaysia with 41%, and Taiwan with 37%. Such a study contributes to the reality that visual perception being a big part of attraction exists, and will persist. Each shelf of cosmetic items we pass by in the grocery and department stores strengthens the awareness that what we see outside matters a lot, and right now outside matters a lot, and right now—for the Filipinos at least—what matters is whiter skin.

We have thought of transforming the kayumanggi to utter maputi in every application imaginable; topical, injectables, medication, soaps, lotions, even facial wash. Dove even produces these segment advertisements which I honestly find ridiculous, since it’s about a relationship being torn apart thanks to the third party’s blindingly white complexion, which society subliminally views as beautiful. And it does! The knowledge has been implanted that being fair brings flair, that whiter is better. Our neurons have reorganized themselves into this approach, affecting how we recognize and appreciate what is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. In other words, the market is successful in incorporating new information, to which society has welcomed with oh-so open arms, not to mention our reaction of pleasure. Or could it be pleasure behind six layers of pain?

Beauty over misery!

Advertisements and endorsing celebrities are not to be blamed completely for this phenomenon, though. In my opinion, there’s a much older source of knowledge contributing significantly to this, and that can be no other than Spanish colonization. Indeed the one mestiza cell has been transferred from the invaders to the invaded and stuck there, proliferating for three whole centuries. With a period that long followed by the Americans, it wouldn’t be surprising to notice what now resulted to the present generation’s modified standard of beauty. Heck they are scampering to the beach every spring break to have that to-die-for tan, while we execute strategies to have the opposite. Funny, but that's the way some things go.

In the end, it is a realization that different cultures and ethnicities have their own perception of what looks good, is attractive, and beautiful. It just upsets me how exaggerated the need for becoming lighter has become. Filipinos having complexions darker than the typical brownness are poked fun at. Some sacrifice outdoor activities almost completely because of the restrictions employed by the products. These are sad actualities that need not happen. Sure, it is a free country, and we have the right to modify skin tone, hair color, or hair length. We can change our standards for beauty, just as long as we don't interfere with standards of others. We can change how we look for the sake of attraction, just not the respect we have for our fellowmen. After all, as far as beauty is concerned...

Agree? Of course you do.

Source: Swami, Furnham, & Joshi (2008). The influence of skin tone, hair length, and hair colour on ratings of women’s physical attractiveness, health and fertility. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 49, 429–437.

"Bang, Bang, KABOOM!"... 5 More Minutes Mom!

The Philippines has become the top leader in the region when it comes to gaming. According to the 2009 statistics coming from the IDC (International Data Corporation), the Philippines would have produced an estimated 7.9 million online gamers by the of that year alone. This number greatly overshadowed the estimates for the other countries in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, 1.08 million; Singapore, 1.47 million; Thailand, 2.88 million; Vietnam, 4.07 million; and Malaysia, 6.11 million. This may seem like bad news to some concerned individuals - especially the mommies, the teachers and the boss people of the country; but there may actually be a silver lining.  

Boys around the country rejoice! The next time your doting mothers or jealous girlfriends (or boyfriends) ask you to stop playing video games and demand that you start paying more attention, you can now proudly cite how video games can actually help you in doing just that.

In a 2010 study by Matthew W.G. Dye and Daphne Bavelier, they tested a [pre-dominantly male; to reflect the bias that gamers are mostly male] group of children (aged 7-17 yrs old) and a [pre-dominantly male] group of adults (aged 18-22 yrs old) on three aspects of visual attention namely, (A; Spatial) the ability to distribute visual attention across the field to search for a target, (B; Temporal) the time required for attention to recover from being directed towards a target, and (C; Object-based) the number of objects to which attention can be simultaneously allocated. The researchers used UFOV, AB and MOT tasks respectively to measure these aspects of attention. The participants were afterwards interviewed to determine their [action] video game playing habits. They looked specifically at the patricipants' frequency of video game playing in the 12 months prior to being tested- how often they played and how long they typically played for every session. 

Initial analysis revealed that there was no improvement with age on the UFOV task suggesting an already stable visual seach skills by the time they the children have entered elementary school. In the attentional blink task (AB), the scores were seen to follow a diminishing asymptote to the middle school years. For the MOT (multiply tracking object) task, age brings improvement in visually following objects. Using these considerations, they focused then focused on comparing video game players and non-video players on the the spatial, temporal and object-based aspects of visual attention.

They found that video- game players scored significantly higher on all three tasks which meant: they required less time for the stimulus to be present to attend to a stimulus in a scene littered with distractors, they had improved peripheral visual attentive performance without a cost to central visual performance, they recovered faster than non-video game players, and they could visually track more objects. 

Well, the results honestly caught me by surprise. Although I consider myself a gamer, I've always been one of those people (together with the mommies, the teachers and the boss people of the country) who firmly believe that too much video games is bad. I guess what we can take away from this is that although it may have somewhat improved effect on our visual capacity, there are still other studies that indicate how action video games lead to increased aggressiveness and poorer academic performance. I guess it's all about how we look at things, just a matter of perspective.

Dye, M., & Bavelier, D. (2010). Differential development of visual attention skills in school-age children. Visual Research, 50, 452-459.  


Photo sources:
memegenerator.net
roosterteeth.com

Driving Off Into the Sunset

The Philippines may be renowned for many things, but one thing that people may not really know is that it is arguably home to the best drivers in the world. Filipino drivers regularly face horrifying traffic, depressing road conditions, and questionably moral traffic officers. In addition to this, they have to contend with all sorts of drivers. There are bus drivers who have a fondness for drag racing, jeepney drivers who constantly switch lanes as if they were rushing to go to the bathroom, motorcycle drivers who keep weaving in and out of traffic with reckless abandon, just to name a few. Aside from these driver stereotypes, there is also the notion of lolo and lola drivers taking their leisurely time in the car while a kilometer’s worth of road behind them is filled with angry, impatient drivers.

In a 2007 study conducted by a large team of researchers, it was found that elderly drivers with impaired visual attention are more likely to avoid driving than unimpaired drivers. Older drivers who had an elevated risk of having car accidents practiced self-regulation of driving more than their low-risk counterparts. Although elderly women were more likely than elderly male drivers to avoid challenging driving situations, it was found that both male and female participants had similar tendencies of modifying their frequency of driving when impaired visual attention factored in. The males’ inclination to undertake more challenging driving situations is seen to be potentially related to their propensity for risk-taking and stimulus seeking.

Ahh, the simple joys of driving.

These findings were obtained by administering two tests, namely the Driving Habits Questionnaire (DHQ), and the Useful Field of Vision (UFOV) test. Though it may sound self-explanatory, the DHQ in this particular study was used to measure their driving avoidance behavior, while the UFOV is a computer-based measure of visual attention and information processing speed. The results obtained from the UFOV are particularly strong predictors of driving behaviors in older adults, wherein poor performance is related to increased risk of involvement in car accidents. (Oh how I wish there was a test in existence that can prove to some idiots that they aren’t road-worthy drivers… Maybe someday driving in the Philippines will be a much more pleasant experience without them polluting the roads with themselves and their cars. Someday, hopefully.)

I guess I can generally agree with the findings of this study. It makes quite a lot of sense that elderly people who have a more difficult time in regulating their visual attention would be more restrictive of their driving excursions. The constant shifting and dividing of attention for what seems to be a simple drive must be really taxing on the older folks. With the inevitable decline of one’s vision and the eyes' ability to accommodate in older age because of the hardening of the lens and the weakening of the ciliary muscles, it is no surprise that older drivers usually choose to drive under better conditions. So even though some of these elder drivers may seem to have been alive when the wheel was invented, please, bear with them. Perhaps these lolos and lolas who believe they can still see well enough to drive are just exercising caution by moving at a snail’s pace, since they find it harder to pay attention to everything on the road and all.

He's probably just resting his eyes.

Okonkwo, O.C., Wadley, V.G., Crowe, M., Roenker, D.L., Ball, K. (2007). Self-Regulation of driving in the context of impaired visual attention: Are there gender differences? Rehabilitation Psychology, 52 (4), 421-428.

Images from:

http://chuvacosmo.blogspot.com

http://www.badlydrawnboysite.blogspot.com

What do men and women focus on when watching porn?

It is a well-known belief that most men are interested in all sorts of stuff related to sex. Being around my male college friends, I can somehow attest to this idea. Whenever I am with them, there would never be a conversation wherein there is no mention of anything related to a woman’s anatomy. They would find ways to inject green meanings to topics that seem harmless and innocent like giving a sexually explicit meaning to the word “picnic”. Having my personal experiences in mind, I wonder if there is a difference in the visual attention that men and women give when they watch sexually explicit videos. In 2010, Goldstein mentioned that people pay more attention to the objects in their environment that they want to process more. Considering this, I was expecting that the results would reflect the interests of men and women as they watch sexually explicit film.

In 2008, Akira Tsujimura and colleagues decided to conduct a research on this topic by using an eye-tracking device that they developed. This particular mechanism allows the researchers to readily record the movement of the participants’ eyes while they viewed videos containing sexually explicit scenes. They asked their male and female participants to watch two video clips, one showing sexual intercourse and another without, and indicate whether or not they felt sexually aroused while viewing the scenes.

The participants indicated that all of them were aroused by watching the videos. The results gathered from the video without sexual intercourse were really interesting. As expected, there was an obvious preference of the heterosexual participants to view the body and face of the opposite sex. Although the time spent by the male participants looking at the face of the actress was significantly longer than the time spent by the female participants, it was somehow surprising that the data gathered showed there are no significant differences in the visual attention on the actress’ body by both the male and female participants. These data might mean that women were equally attentive to the bodies of both actors and actresses. However, these findings do not indicate that the females are into women. Also, the results of the experiment show that women pay more attention to the nonhuman objects in the setting of the scene. This additional data might mean that women are attentive to all the different aspects of the videos as compared to the male participants. These results might mean that women are more interested in perceiving all the different aspects of the film aside from the actors and actresses compared to the men who participated in the study.

The second clip shown to the participants involves sexual intercourse. When the participants viewed the second clip, there were no significant differences between the males and the females. The researchers hypothesized that sexually explicit videos evoke the same attention responses from individuals of different sexes, indicating similar interests of male and female participants.

It is quite interesting to find out what goes on in a person’s mind from what he or she pays attention to and what she or he chooses to perceive as exhibited in this particular study.  As I expected, men paid more attention to the actress than the other aspects of the film. Women on the other hand notice most of the other things in the scene. I guess that my preconceptions on how individuals of different genders would respond to sexually explicit stimuli are largely affected by the society that we live in. In a patriarchal, conservative and predominantly Christian society, it is more widely accepted for men to be vocal with their thoughts about the topic of sex. Also, men are expected to be macho which somehow prevent them to be interested in the body and face of other men. It is amazing how the environment affects one’s attention and perceptions. 

Goldstein, B. (2010). Sensation and Perception.Canada: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Tsujimura, A., Miyagawa, Y., Takada, S., Yasuhiro, M., Takao, T., Hirai, T.,...Okuyama, A. (2008). Sex differences in visual attention to sexually explicit videos: A preliminary study. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 6, 1011-1017.

Do men really like pretty women?

         We have all these sayings about how beauty comes from within, that it’s in the eye of the beholder or that you’re beautiful no matter what they say, because words won’t bring you down. If we women are amazing just the way we are, then why is that when I type in “Why men like pretty women” on the search box over at Google, women all over are asking, why do men prefer to date bimbos than a clever woman? Or, here’s a winner: If God knows men like pretty women, then why does He create ugly women? (Someone actually responded, saying that without ugly people, there would be no pretty people – witty, huh?)

           It’s plastered all over the television, billboards and magazines – men like pretty women. Women, on the other hand, could care less about looks than how intelligent and good-natured a guy is. Besides, according to Harvard University researchers, a beautiful woman’s face is like cocaine, cash or chocolates to a young man’s brain. As a woman, I don’t know if that’s supposed to be flattering or downright insulting. I suppose it can make for a corny pick-up line or a wedding vow of a man guy that a poor soul has the misfortune of marrying.

         This is exactly why I often wonder if my tummy is flat enough, or if the pimple on my nose is morphing into some sort of fungi that guys are starting to notice. I’m sure all the other girls are no different – they’re probably even worse. Boob jobs, facelifts and all other lifts – it’s like creating Frankenstein’s bride! The prettier version, I suppose?

Not so pretty.

           Back in 1983, Shriley Rosenwasser and her colleagues tested this theory out by showing a couple of people slides of women and men clothed, as well as in bathing suits/trunks. Basically, what they wanted to find out was if there was any difference in visual attention between males and females regarding these stimuli. According to them, since women are more concerned about looking good, they’re likely to do more intrasex looking. Men, of course, are more likely to look at women because they don’t care how they look since they know the ladies still want them anyway. But kidding aside, men rate physical attractiveness as an important factor, which is why they check out women longer.

Tell me you're looking at this.

          The level of attractiveness was initially determined by asking people to rate the photos. Participants in the study were then shown the slides and allowed to control the speed of viewing, after which they were asked to jot down as many slides as they can remember. Using MANOVA, they found that men looked longest at women clothed and second longest at women in bathing suits. Women also looked longest at women clothed but second longest at men in bathing suits/trunks. The researchers suggested that the reason clothed women were the favorite of both groups is that there were more things to look at. However, the slides of the clothed men were rated as being most complex, yet they were least looked at. The researchers then said that perhaps differential complexity had nothing to do with the pattern of viewing. Another reason women looked more at fully clothed women is that these photos usually have women wearing accessories and jewellery, aside from the usual clothes. And when you’re a woman and you’re trying to look all dolled up, these are the easiest to manipulate.

         The findings are rather different from what I expected; I always thought women looked longer at men simply because they were good looking men. Maybe the men in the slides aren’t as good looking? Besides, we all have different preferences and standards for good looks. I suppose that’s one factor that should be accounted for in future studies. But kudos to the researchers for debunking the world’s theory about men: They’re not as perverted as we think they are.


Rosenwasser, Adams & Tansil (1983). Visual Attention as a Function of Sex and Apparel of Stimulus Object: Who Looks at Whom? Social Behavior and Personality, 11(2): 11-15.