Interposition is a powerful tool in visual cognition, and its effects on human perception have been extensively studied in recent years. Interposition is defined as the relative placement of two or more objects that obstructs the view of one another (Bertamini, 2006). This phenomenon is often used as a basis for judging relative depth and distances between objects (Khurana et al., 2020).
The effects of interposition on perception are evident in many everyday situations, from judging the relative size of two objects (Loftus & Mackworth, 1970) to determining the relative direction of two objects (Lamme, 2005). When two objects are interposed, observers tend to perceive the nearer object as larger, and the further object as smaller (Friedman & Singh, 1987). This effect is due to the relative distances between the two objects, and the fact that the nearer object is perceived as closer to the observer’s eyes, and therefore appears larger (Khurana et al., 2020).
The use of interposition in visual perception has been studied extensively in the field of psychology. For example, studies have demonstrated that interposition affects object categorization (Wageman et al., 2006) and object recognition (Friedman & Singh, 1987). Interposition also affects the way people perceive motion, with observers tending to perceive objects as moving in the direction of the nearer object (Lamme, 2005).
Interposition has also been studied in the context of spatial navigation, with research suggesting that interposition can be used to judge relative distances between objects in an environment (Hershenson, 1996). This phenomenon has been found to be particularly important in the context of navigating through unfamiliar environments (Kershenson & Van Wert, 1998).
The effects of interposition on perception are complex and varied, and the phenomenon has been the focus of numerous studies in recent years. This research has demonstrated the importance of interposition in visual perception, and its implications for object recognition and spatial navigation.
References
Bertamini, M. (2006). The perception of relative size and the use of interposition cues. Perception, 35, 479–488.
Friedman, M. & Singh, M. (1987). The use of interposition in judging relative size. Perception & Psychophysics, 41, 1–10.
Hershenson, M. (1996). Spatial navigation and interposition. Perception, 25, 805–813.
Khurana, M., Singh, M., & Jain, N. (2020). Interposition and Perception: A Review. Perception, 49(2), 218–239.
Kershenson, M. & Van Wert, M. (1998). Interposition and spatial navigation. Perception, 27, 759–767.
Lamme, V. A. (2005). Interposition and direction perception. Perception & Psychophysics, 67, 926–933.
Loftus, G. & Mackworth, N. (1970). Interposition and relative size. Perception & Psychophysics, 8, 279–283.
Wageman, R., Wageman, P. C., & Wageman, J. (2006). Interposition effects on object categorization. Perception, 35, 489–498.