Internal Representations and the Importance of Active Control in Dynamic Spatial Orientation
Larish, John Francis
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/72133
Description
Title
Internal Representations and the Importance of Active Control in Dynamic Spatial Orientation
Author(s)
Larish, John Francis
Issue Date
1993
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Wickens, Christopher D.
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Experimental
Abstract
Gibson (1962, 1966) proposed that an important characteristic of perception is that observers are active. Three experiments were conducted examining the benefits of active control in determining dynamic spatial orientation. Subjects were presented with displays simulating flight through a 3-D world. Active observers continuously controlled self-motion whereas passive observers viewed the displays controlled by active observers. During each trial, the display was briefly blacked out. In Experiments 1 and 2, the blackout was followed by a static image. Subjects in these experiments were required to indicate whether they were in the correct or incorrect orientation following the blackout. In Experiment 3, simulated locomotion continued for a period following the blackout. Subjects made continuous indications of orientation throughout the trial. The presence or absence of an orientation change during blackout, the type of change (rotation about the vertical axis, horizontal axis, or forward translation), the consistency of change, and the duration of the blackout were varied. In both Experiment 1, which required compensatory tracking and Experiment 2 which involved required pursuit tracking active observers were more sensitive to changes in orientation than were passive observers. In Experiment 3, which required pursuit tracking but used a continuous response measure, active observers had lower RMS tracking error than passive observers and their estimates of orientation anticipated simulated orientation. Performance in all three experiments provide support for a representational momentum effect for extrapolated orientation. An extrapolation model of orientation is discussed which predicts superior performance for active observers. The results of the experiments are discussed in terms of this model.
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