FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-67/18

Title and Subtitle: Cue-enhancement as a function of task-set.

Report Date: August 1967

Authors: Gogel WC.

Abstract: Under flight conditions, as well as in other situations, judgments of the distances between objects may depend upon a variety of possible cues. In this study, the hypothesis was tested that the intention to use a particular cue relation would enhance the effectiveness of that particular cue in determining the resulting perception. For this purpose, a situation was presented in which the apparent depth position of an object in a configuration of objects would differ depending upon which of two possible cue relations (size cues) were used.

The results support the conclusion that the perceived depth position of the object differed in the expected directions as a function of the task-set. The data of the study are discussed with respect to the 'adjacency principle' which states that cue efficiency is determined by the relative adjacency of objects between which the cues occur. Although the effect of cue-set upon the perception seems to be small compared with that of adjacency, it cannot completely be ignored.

Key Words: space perception, performance (human), aviation personnel, vision, aviation medicine.

No. of Pages: 8