title: Subjective hypotenuse estimation: a test of the Pythagorean theorem.
abstract: The Pythagorean theorem constitutes a normative model for the estimation of the length of the hypotenuse of a right-angled figure. Tested with functional measurement methods, this mathematically correct model was inappropriate as a descriptive model. The problem was an orientation effect; hypotenuse estimates for vertically oriented figures were larger than those for horizontally oriented figures composed of the same lengths. Because of this discrepancy, no additive model could describe the judgments.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008433:Mathematics; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009903:Optical Illusions; D009949:Orientation