title: Within reach but not so reachable: obstacles matter in visual perception of distances.
abstract: A large number of studies have shown that effort influences the visual perception of reaching distance. These studies have mainly focused on the effects of reach-relevant properties of the body and of the objects that people intend to reach. However, any influence of the reach-relevant properties of the surrounding environment remains still speculative. We investigated this topic in terms of the role of obstacle width in perceiving distances. Participants had to estimate the straight-line distance to a cylinder located just behind a transparent barrier of varying width. The results showed that participants perceived the straight-line distance to the cylinder as being longer when they intended to grasp the cylinder by reaching around a wide transparent barrier rather than by reaching around narrower ones. Interestingly, this effect might be due to the anticipated effort involved in reaching. Together, our results show that reach-relevant properties of the surrounding environment influence perceived distances, thereby supporting an embodied view of the visual perception of space.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neurocognition (CNRS), Université de Grenoble, Grenoble, France. nicolas.morgado@upmf-grenoble.fr
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morgado
authors.forename: Edouard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gentaz
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guinet
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Osiurak
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Palluel-Germain
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004215:Distance Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult