Is Pictorial Perception Robust? The Effect of the Observer Vantage Point on the Perceived Depth Structure of Linear-Perspective Images

Abstract

Every image of a scene produced in accord with the rules of linear perspective has an associated projection centre. Only if observed from that position does the image provide the stimulus which is equivalent to the one provided by the original scene. According to the perspective-transformation hypothesis, observing the image from other vantage points should result in specific transformations of the structure of the conveyed scene, whereas according to the vantage-point compensation hypothesis it should have little effect. Geometrical analyses illustrating the transformation theory are presented. An experiment is reported to confront the two theories. The results provide little support for the compensation theory and are generally in accord with the transformation theory, but also show systematic deviations from it, possibly due to cue conflict and asymmetry of visual angles.