Active Control vs. Passive Perception of Heading: Evidence for Different Perceptual Mechanisms

Abstract

Traditional psychophysical research on perception of heading is characterized by an observer passively viewing a self-motion display. However, some studies suggest that active observers form different perceptions than passive observers, which challenges the relevance of traditional studies of heading to issues of vehicular control. The present study examined whether observers who actively control their self-motion perceive heading differently than those who passively view a self-motion display. We examined heading performance during both active control of yaw and passive observation using a manual control paradigm. The results indicated that observers who actively controlled their yaw perceived heading in a manner that was qualitatively different than observers who passively viewed a self-motion display. Moreover, the results suggest that active observers learn to use relevant display information that passive observers overlook. These results cast doubt on the relevance of traditional psychophysical research on heading to the issue of vehicular control.

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