Size constancy

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Size constancy is an aspect of perceptual constancy in which an object will appear to be the same size to an observer despite of changes in light , rotation, distance, perspective etc. This skill is so important that is appears in an infant only a couple of weeks old.

Size constancy and visual illusions

• Ebbinghaus illusion
• Müller-Lyer illusion
• Shepard's tables illusion

See also

• Apparent size
• Emmert's law
• Linear perspective
• Size discrimination

Books

• Day, R. H. (1987). Visual size constancy in infancy. Hillsdale, NJ, England: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Deregowski, J. B., & Bentley, A. M. (1988). Distance constancy in Bushmen: An exploratory study. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishing.
• Gillam, B. (1990). Geometrical illusions. New York, NY: W H Freeman/Times Books/ Henry Holt & Co.
• Granrud, C. E. (2004). Visual Metacognition and the Development of Size Constancy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• McKee, S. P., & Smallman, H. S. (1998). Size and speed constancy. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
• Ingle, D. (1998). Perceptual constancies in lower vertebrates. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
• Lombardi, C. M., & Delius, J. D. (1990). Size invariance in visual pattern recognition by pigeons. Hillsdale, NJ, England: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Rock, I., Hill, A. L., & Fineman, M. (1997). Speed constancy and size constancy. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
• Ross, H. E., & Plug, C. (1998). The history of size constancy and size illusions. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
• Wagner, M. (2006). The geometries of visual space. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

Papers

• Baillargeon, R. (1991). Reasoning about the height and location of a hidden object in 4.5- and 6.5-month-old infants: Cognition Vol 38(1) Jan 1991, 13-42.
• Berryman, L. J., Yau, J. M., & Hsiao, S. S. (2006). Representation of Object Size in the Somatosensory System: Journal of Neurophysiology Vol 96(1) Jul 2006, 27-39.
• Bertamini, M., Yang, T. L., & Proffitt, D. R. (1998). Relative size perception at a distance is best at eye level: Perception & Psychophysics Vol 60(4) May 1998, 673-682.
• Biederman, I., & Cooper, E. E. (1992). Size invariance in visual object priming: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance Vol 18(1) Feb 1992, 121-133.
• Bredenkamp, J., & Sarris, V. (1984). Psychophysics today: Modern problems and results: III: Psychologische Beitrage Vol 26(4) 1984, 616-671.
• Broota, A., & Gupta, G. C. (1984). Size constancy in schizophrenics: Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology Vol 11(1) Mar 1984, 67-74.
• Bross, M. (2000). Emmert's law in the dark: Active and passive proprioceptive effects on positive visual afterimages: Perception Vol 29(11) 2000, 1385-1391.
• Cohen, L., Gray, F., Meyrignac, C., Dehaene, S., & et al. (1994). Selective deficit of visual size perception: Two cases of hemimicropsia: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry Vol 57(1) Jan 1994, 73-78.
• Crassini, B., Best, C. J., & Day, R. H. (2003). Misperceiving extents in the medial plane: The paradox of Shepard's tables illusion. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Douglas, R. H., Eva, J., & Guttridge, N. (1988). Size constancy in goldfish (Carassius auratus): Behavioural Brain Research Vol 30(1) Sep 1988, 37-42.
• Eriksson, S. (2000). Depth motion sensitivity functions: Psychological Research Vol 63(1) 2000, 48-61.
• Farne, M., & Sebellico, A. (1985). Illusory motions induced by rapid displacements of the observer: Perception Vol 14(4) 1985, 393-402.
• Girgus, J. S., & Coren, S. (1975). Depth cues and constancy scaling in the horizontal-vertical illusion: The bisection error: Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie Vol 29(1) 1975, 59-65.
• Glover, S. (2004). What causes scale errors in children? : Trends in Cognitive Sciences Vol 8(10) Oct 2004, 440-442.
• Gori, S., & Stubbs, D. A. (2006). Last but not least: A new set of illusions-the Dynamic Luminance-Gradient Illusion and the Breathing Light Illusion: Perception Vol 35(11) 2006, 1573-1577.
• Granrud, C. E., & Schmechel, T. T. N. (2006). Development of size constancy in children: A test of the proximal mode sensitivity hypothesis: Perception & Psychophysics Vol 68(8) Nov 2006, 1372-1381.
• Gregory, R. L. (1973). Reply to Massaro: Psychological Review Vol 80(4) Jul 1973, 304.
• Higashiyama, A. (1992). Anisotropic perception of visual angle: Implications for the horizontal-vertical illusion, overconstancy of size, and the moon illusion: Perception & Psychophysics Vol 51(3) Mar 1992, 218-230.
• Iivanainen, A., & Rovamo, J. (1992). The effects of colour adaptation and stimulus size on white perception as a function of eccentricity in man: Vision Research Vol 32(6) Jun 1992, 1131-1135.
• Jeo, R. M. (1999). Representation of three-dimensional space in primate visual cortex. (spatial processing, size constancy). Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering.
• Kassubek, J., Otte, M., Wolter, T., Greenlee, M. W., Mergner, T., & Lucking, C. H. (1999). Brain imaging in a patient with hemimicropsia: Neuropsychologia Vol 37(12) Nov 1999, 1327-1334.
• Kaufman, L., Kaufman, J. H., Noble, R., Edlund, S., Bai, S., & King, T. (2006). Perceptual distance and the constancy of size and stereoscopic depth: Spatial Vision Vol 19(5) 2006, 439-457.
• Lawson, R., & Bertamini, M. (2006). Errors in judging information about reflections in mirrors: Perception Vol 35(9) 2006, 1265-1288.
• Lawson, R., Bertamini, M., & Liu, D. (2007). Overestimation of the projected size of objects on the surface of mirrors and windows: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance Vol 33(5) Oct 2007, 1027-1044.
• Masin, S. C. (2007). Note on development of perception of size: Perceptual and Motor Skills Vol 105(3, Pt1) Dec 2007, 788-794.
• Massaro, D. W. (1973). Constancy Scaling Revisited: Psychological Review Vol 80(4) Jul 1973, 303.
• McGraw, K. O., & Stanford, J. (1994). The apparent distance of interior and exterior corners: A test of Gregory's misapplied size constancy explanation for the Mueller-Lyer illusion: Journal of General Psychology Vol 121(1) Jan 1994, 19-26.
• McKee, S. P., & Welch, L. (1992). The precision of size constancy: Vision Research Vol 32(8) Aug 1992, 1447-1460.
• Meehan, J. W. (1993). Apparent minification in an imaging display under reduced viewing conditions: Perception Vol 22(9) 1993, 1075-1084.
• Miller, R. J. (2004). An Empirical Demonstration of the Interactive Influence of Distance and Flatness Information on Size Perception in Pictures: Empirical Studies of the Arts Vol 22(1) 2004, 1-21.
• Ogasawara, J. (1989). Anomalies in space perception after cataract operation in an aged subject: I: Japanese Journal of Psychonomic Science Vol 8(1) Oct 1989, 9-16.
• Pagano, C. C., & Cabe, P. A. (2003). Constancy in Dynamic Touch: Length Perceived by Dynamic Touch Is Invariant Over Changes in Media: Ecological Psychology Vol 15(1) Jan 2003, 1-17.
• Plessner, H., & Schallies, E. (2005). Judging the cross on rings: A matter of achieving shape constancy: Applied Cognitive Psychology Vol 19(9) Dec 2005, 1145-1156.
• Predebon, J. (1993). The familiar-size cue to distance and stereoscopic depth perception: Perception Vol 22(8) 1993, 985-995.
• Richman, B. J., Kellner, H. N., & Allen, D. A. (1969). "Size Constancy in Retarded Versus Normal Children: A Developmental Hypothesis": Erratum: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Vol 33(3) Jun 1969, 270.
• Rovamo, J., & Iivanainen, A. (1991). Detection of chromatic deviations from white across the human visual field: Vision Research Vol 31(12) 1991, 2227-2234.
• Servos, P. (2006). Preservation of Emmert's Law in a Visual Form Agnosic: Neurocase Vol 12(2) Apr 2006, 122-126.
• Shallo, J., & Rock, I. (1988). Size constancy in children: A new interpretation: Perception Vol 17(6) 1988, 803-813.
• Shallo, J. A. (1985). Size perception in children: Evidence for dual mode processing: Dissertation Abstracts International.
• Slater, A., Mattock, A., & Brown, E. (1990). Size constancy at birth: Newborn infants' responses to retinal and real size: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology Vol 49(2) Apr 1990, 314-322.
• Subramanian, A., & Dickinson, C. (2004). Size constancy in visual impairment: A comparison with normally sighted individuals: Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics Vol 24(4) Jul 2004, 350-354.
• Sun, H., & Frost, B. J. (1998). Computation of different optical variables of looming objects in pigeon nucleus rotundus neurons: Nature Neuroscience Vol 1(4) Aug 1998, 296-303.
• Tozawa, J. (1992). Perceived size and perceived distance of a growing pattern on the frontal plane: Japanese Journal of Psychonomic Science Vol 10(2) Mar 1992, 99-107.
• Treisman, M. (1983). The cylinder configuration: When is a distortion an illusion? : Perception Vol 12(5) 1983, 581-587.
• Turner, J., & Braunstein, M. L. (1995). Size constancy in structure from motion: Perception Vol 24(10) 1995, 1155-1164.
• Van der Zee, E., Boesten, M. H., & Duwaer, A. L. (1983). The influence of "size constancy" on the subjective evaluation of image quality: IPO Annual Progress Report No 18 1983, 61-66.
• von Collani, G. (1985). Retinal projection or size constancy as determinants of the horizontal-vertical illusion? : Perceptual and Motor Skills Vol 61(2) Oct 1985, 547-557.
• Whitaker, D., McGraw, P. V., & Pearson, S. (1999). Non-veridical size perception of expanding and contracting objects: Vision Research Vol 39(18) Sep 1999, 2999-3009.
• Witt, J. K., Linkenauger, S. A., Bakdash, J. Z., & Proffitt, D. R. (2008). Putting to a bigger hole: Golf performance relates to perceived size: Psychonomic Bulletin & Review Vol 15(3) Jun 2008, 581-585.
• Wolfe, U., Maloney, L. T., & Tam, M. (2005). Distortions of perceived length in the frontoparallel plane: Tests of perspective theories: Perception & Psychophysics Vol 67(6) Aug 2005, 967-979.