Perception of Affordances for Walking Under a Barrier From Proximal and Distal Points of Observation

Abstract

We investigated perception of affordances for a given behavior from points of observation other than that from which the behavior is to be performed. Participants viewed a horizontal barrier from different points of observation and reported whether they would be able to walk under that barrier. In Experiment 1, they viewed the barrier both while standing on the floor and while sitting on the floor. In Experiment 2, they viewed the barrier both while standing on the floor and while standing on a step stool. The results show that although perception of this affordance is body-scaled regardless of point of observation, there are subtle differences in the perceptual boundaries in each case. Such differences are likely due to differential attunement to the information specifying the affordance at each point of observation.