Factors Affecting the Operation of Kundt's Rule

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with three subjects to investigate the importance of various factors affecting the operation of that portion of Kundt's rule which says that, under conditions of monocular observation, an individual, in bisecting a horizontal line, will tend to locate the “bisector” somewhat to the nasal side of the true center. The variables studied included eye used, horizontal dimension of stimulus, and figure height or form (straight line, rectangle, or square). An analysis of variance showed that the different orders of judgments, Ss, eye used, and various interactions were significant sources of variation. The horizontal dimension of the stimulus and figure height or form yielded non-significant F ratios, although in the prior case, it is concluded that there was a real effect of the variable which is, however, hidden by the particular statistical analysis employed. Some of the data of individual Ss provide evidence for the existence of either an improvement or a deterioration in performance, as the judgmental process continued. Various possible explanations of the findings are discussed and evaluated.