Cognitive biases in the perception of spatial orientation

描述（由申请人提供）：一项关于空间方位感知评价错误的新分析表明，这些错误可能是由于围绕分类参考框架的认知偏差。空间定位是一个广泛的空间认知行为的基本组成部分，从移动导航到解读x光片。空间方向感知的初步研究表明，对于视觉探索的斜线和斜面，以及通过触摸探索的斜面，感知的方向偏离感知的水平而偏向感知的垂直。二维直线方向的偏置函数的具体形状与三维曲面方向的偏置函数略有不同，但偏置方向相同。拟议的研究试图确定诸如垂直和水平等概念参考框架的偏倚作用的程度。第一项研究将检查旋转观测者分配参考系的灵活性，使物体的长轴不再与重力垂直方向对齐。可以预见，在重力垂直和身体垂直之间的一条线的感知方向将在不同的方向上扭曲（但总是朝着“垂直”），这取决于垂直参与者被指示使用哪个作为评估的参考框架。进一步的研究试图通过视觉和触觉来测试以一定角度而不是笔直面对的表面和线条的分类偏差，并检查在触手可及的小尺度物体的感知方向中发现的偏差是否在诸如山丘之类的大尺度表面上被简单地放大，或者被添加到山丘感知的视觉偏差中。认知上对水平偏差的夸大可能会增加对山的误解，使其比实际更陡峭，这是为了使对行为重要的信息更容易获得，从而控制行动。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A new analysis of errors in the perceptual evaluation of spatial orientation suggests that these may be due to cognitive biases around categorical frames of reference. Spatial orientation is a fundamental component of a broad range of spatial cognitive behaviors from ambulatory navigation to interpreting a radiograph. Preliminary studies of the perception of spatial orientation show that for slanted lines and surfaces explored visually and for slanted surfaces explored by touch, perceived orientation is biased away from the perceived horizontal and toward the perceived vertical. The specific shape of the bias function is somewhat different for 2D line orientation than for 3D surface orientation, but the biases are in the same direction. The proposed studies seek to establish the extent of the biasing roles of conceptual reference frames such as vertical and horizontal. The first study will examine the flexibility of the assignment of reference frames by rotating observers so that the major axis of the body is no longer aligned with the gravitational vertical. It is anticipated that perceived orientation of a line whose orientation is intermediate between the gravitational vertical and the bodily vertical will be distorted in a different direction (but always toward the "vertical") depending on which vertical participants are instructed to use as the reference frame for evaluation. Further studies seek to test for category-based biases for surfaces and lines confronted at an angle rather than straight ahead - both by vision and by touch - and to examine whether the biases found in the perceived orientation of small- scale objects viewed within reach are simply amplified for large-scale surfaces such as hills or are added to visual biases in hill perception. The cognitive exaggeration of deviations from horizontal may add to the misperception of hills as steeper than they are for the sake of making behaviorally-important information more accessible for the control of action. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Spatial cognition is related to a wide range of cognitive and perceptual matters relevant to fundamental health issues including preventative behavior (avoiding accidents and falls), medical diagnosis (in the interpretation of radiographs, for example) and mobility training for persons with disabilities (in the evaluation of accessibility of ramps or steep paths, for example). The proposed project studies cognitive biases in perceived orientation that may affect health outcomes as described above.