The space we see around us is the end product of a long series of processes: physical, physiological, and cognitive. It is a highly structured perceptual entity. In contrast to the fact that most studies of visual perception are concerned with local phenomena in this visual space, the main purpose of this book is to discuss the global structure of visual space. The physical space which surrounds us is of Euclidean structure, but its perceived image is not necessarily structured in that way. Problems such as why the sky appears as a vault and why the horizon is located at eye level are discussed in the book.

A renewed interest in the study of vision has attracted scholars from such diverse fields as neuroscience, computer science, mathematics, physics and philosophy. At the same time, the development of imaging devices and popularization of stereoscopic effects has increased student interest in vision. This primer provides an overview of the principles of space perception in a handbook format that should appeal to researchers as well as students. Topics covered include geometrical and distal-proximal relationships, spatial localization, stereopsis, cyclopean perception, stimulus inadequacy, pictorial cues, perceived size and shape, Gibsonian psychophysics, lateral motion, motion in depth, perceived object motion, and motion detection.

First Published in 2006. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

When most people think of space, they think of physical space. However, visual space concerns space as consciously experienced, and it is studied through subjective measures, such as asking people to use numbers to estimate perceived distances, areas, angles, or volumes. This book explores the mismatch between perception and physical reality, and describes the many factors that influence the perception of space including the meaning assigned to geometric concepts like distance, the judgment methods used to report the experience, the presence or absence of cues to depth, and the orientation of a stimulus with respect to point of view. The main theme of the text is that no single geometry describes visual space, but that the geometry of visual space depends upon the stimulus conditions and mental shifts in the subjective meaning of size and distance. In addition, The Geometries of Visual Space: *contains philosophical, mathematical, and psychophysical background material; *looks at synthetic approaches to space perception including work on hyperbolic, spherical, and Euclidean geometries; *presents a meta-analysis of studies that ask observers to directly estimate size, distance, area, angle, and volume; *looks at the size constancy literature in which observers are asked to adjust a comparison stimulus to match a variety of standards at different distances away; *discusses research that takes a multi-dimensional approach toward studying visual space; and *discusses how spatial experience is influenced by memory. While this book is primarily intended for scholars in perception, mathematical psychology, and psychophysics, it will also be accessible to a wider audience since it is written at a readable level. It will make a good graduate-level textbook on space perception.

Psychophysical Analysis of Visual Space focuses on the use of psychophysics in the analysis of visual space, with emphasis on space perception and physiological optics. Topics covered include null-size judgment, ratio-size judgment, frontal-size judgment, and distance judgment, as well as selected physiological correlates of size and distance judgments. A theoretical analysis of model reduction is also presented. This volume consists of 11 chapters and opens with an overview of basic definitions and evidence in support of the constancy hypothesis. A psychophysical approach to the problems of visual space is described. The reader is then introduced to null-size judgment, ratio-size judgment, frontal-size judgment, and distance judgment, with emphasis on the importance of the retina as a reference for spatial judgments and how size judgments of targets at different distances can be related to judgments of targets at a constant distance. Some of the important relationships between ocular physiology and size-distance judgments are also examined, paying particular attention to size and distance judgments which relate to the variables of convergence, accommodation, angle-of-regard, and binocular disparity. The remaining chapters look at two stimulus correlates of distance judgments: frontal size and longitudinal size. This book will be of interest to physiologists, physicists, and experimental psychologists.

This special issue examines the basic processes of space perception and how these processes interact with action planning and motor control.