Papers by Claire Michaels
Routledge eBooks, Dec 7, 2018
Beginners differ in the kinematic variables they use for visual perception of kinetic properties ... more Beginners differ in the kinematic variables they use for visual perception of kinetic properties but rely on more useful variables after practice. In two experiments, requiring observers to estima ...
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1988
Psychology Press eBooks, May 10, 2023
Psychology Press eBooks, May 10, 2023
Heuristic theorists hold that people use lower-order variables and heuristics for the perception ... more Heuristic theorists hold that people use lower-order variables and heuristics for the perception of the relative masses of colliding balls. In contrast, proponents of the direct approach hold that higher-order optical patterns constitute information abou
Psychological Research-psychologische Forschung, Apr 1, 1986
SummaryUnderlying the classic binocularity problems of singleness and three-dimensionality is a t... more SummaryUnderlying the classic binocularity problems of singleness and three-dimensionality is a theory that the stimulus for binocular vision constitutes two two-dimensional images and metric differences between parts of those images. This characterization of the stimulus is criticized here and in its stead an ecologically-based characterization is presented wherein a binocular transformational invariant is shown to specify absolute (body-scaled) size, shape, and distance. The transformation is characterized as a rotation and its specificity to distance assumes a constant interocular distance and either homogeneously textured or extended surfaces. Four experiments demonstrate perceivers' abilities to detect this information and report (verbally or by reaching) the absolute distances of surfaces in stereograms. A fifth experiment revealed that accurate performance did not depend on oculomotor information. The assumptions of texture extent and distribution and constant interocular distance and their possible violations were discussed. A sixth experiment demonstrated that violations of interocular distance are absorbed by surface shapes. The existence and detection of a binocular rotation dissolves the putative problems of singleness and stereopsis, indicates that the importance of having two frontal eyes is for perception of absolute distance, and reformulates the problems for an algorithmic (physiological) theory of vision.
Theory & Psychology, Oct 1, 2005
This article examines Gibson's concept of perceptual system and Reed's concept of action system. ... more This article examines Gibson's concept of perceptual system and Reed's concept of action system. After discussing several assumptions underlying these concepts, the ontological status of these systems is considered. It is argued that perceptual systems and action systems should be conceptualized neither as parts of an animal's body nor as softly (temporarily) assembled devices; rather, they are best understood as animals' abilities to achieve functional relationships, that is, as dispositional properties. This conceptualization entails that these systems are relatively permanent properties of the animal that are causally supported by, though not identical to, anatomical substrates. Further, it entails that it is the animal that perceives and acts, not its perceptual and action systems.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 2003
Visually guided action implies the existence of information as well as a control law relating tha... more Visually guided action implies the existence of information as well as a control law relating that information to movement. For ball catching, the Chapman Strategy-keeping constant the rate of change of the tangent of the elevation angle (d(tan(␣))/dt)-leads a catcher to the right location at the right time to intercept a fly ball. Previous studies showed the ability to detect the information and the consistency of running patterns with the use of the strategy. However, only direct manipulation of information can show its use. Participants were asked to intercept virtual balls in a Cave Automated Virtual Environment (CAVE) or to judge whether balls would pass behind or in front of them. Catchers in the CAVE successfully intercepted virtual balls with their forehead. Furthermore, the timing of judgments was related to the patterns of changing d(tan(␣))/dt. The advantages and disadvantages of a CAVE as a tool for studying interceptive action are discussed.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1999
To catch a lofted ball, a catcher must pick up information that guides locomotion to where the ba... more To catch a lofted ball, a catcher must pick up information that guides locomotion to where the ball will land. The acceleration of tangent of the elevation angle of the ball (AT) has received empirical support as a possible source of this information. Little, however, has been said about how the information is detected. Do catchers fixate on a stationary point, or do they track the ball with their gaze? Experiment 1 revealed that catchers use eye and head movements to track the ball. This means that if AT is picked up retinally, it must be done by means of background motion. Alternatively, AT could be picked up by extraretinal mechanisms, such as the vestibular and proprioceptive systems. In Experiment 2, catchers reliably ran to intercept luminous fly balls in the dark, that is, in absence of a visual background, under both binocular and monocular viewing conditions. This indicates that the optical information is not detected by a retinal mechanism alone. Although outfielders continue to catch fly balls without problems, scientists are still in search of the perceptual information that makes this behavior possible. Research has addressed both what information might control hand move
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1998
, the Netherlands. We thank Theo de Haan and Richard Casius for technical support and Raoul Bonge... more , the Netherlands. We thank Theo de Haan and Richard Casius for technical support and Raoul Bongers and Renate Albers for help with experiments and analyses. We also thank Geoffrey Bingham, James Cutting, Jean Haskell, Dennis Proffitt, Sverker Runeson, John Stins, and Bill Warren for comments on previous versions of this article and Michael Turvey for suggesting Experiment 5.
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Papers by Claire Michaels