Comparing Perceptual Effects of Perspectival Convergence in Architectural Images

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines the correlation between vertical perspectival convergences in architectural images and their perception by monitoring the eye movements of subjects using eye tracking. Participants viewed images of buildings rendered in one of two variants, either with parallel or convergent vertical lines. In order to quantify differences of perception, a number of analyses were conducted, including density-based cluster analysis to determine areas of heightened visual regard, Voronoi subdivision which allowed for comparison of overall fixation areas, comparisons of fixation durations, image preference tests, and verbal comparisons. Eye-tracking recordings were analyzed in the aggregate in order to examine cumulative viewing behaviors. The study found that while differences in viewing behavior were evident within discrete image counterparts and various forms of analyses, perceptual trends regularly converged toward an even balance across testing stimuli. Attentional propensities tended to be guided by image features over the effects of mere perspectival registration.