The Moon Illusion: Apparent Size and Visual Accommodation Distance

摘要

In two experiments the apparent size of a simulated horizon moon was measured as a function of the distribution of texture in the natural vistas against which it appeared. Size was found to increase as the distance to the dominant textural stimulus to accommodation increased and to decrease as the moon rose above the plane of surface texture. In the second experiment, the subjects' accommodation distances to the various scenes were also measured with a laser optometer, and after appropriate transformations, the size judgments were found to correlate .89 with the measured accommodation values, thereby suggesting that the fabled moon illusion is mediated by the oculomotor adjustments of visual accommodation. (Author)