Abstract
Observers tend to localize the final position of a suddenly vanished moving target farther along in the direction of the target motion (representational momentum). We report here that such localization errors are mediated by perceived motion rather than by retinal motion. By manipulating the cast shadow of a moving target, we induced illusory motion to a target stimulus while keeping the retinal motion constant. Participants indicated the vanishing point of the target by directing a mouse cursor. The resulting magnitude of localization errors was modulated on the basis of the induced direction of the target. Such systematic localization biases were not obtained in a control condition in which the motion paths of the ball and shadow were switched. Our results suggest that cues to object motion trajectory, such as cast shadows, are used for the localization task, supporting a view that a predictive mechanism is responsible for the production of localization errors.
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This research was supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Grant EP/F069421/1 to S.T. and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research 20330153 from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science to K.M.
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Taya, S., Miura, K. Cast shadow can modulate the judged final position of a moving target. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics 72, 1930–1937 (2010). https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.72.7.1930
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.72.7.1930