Why Taller People May Be Better At Judging How Far Away Things Are

Tall people are better than short people at gauging how far away they are from objects in the middle distance, a new study reports. The researchers say the results are evidence for the idea that people’s spatial perception abilities are influenced by their height, and develop over time. The human brain depends on a certain model to provide “the best guess of where objects could be located,” said study co-author Teng Leng Ooi, a professor of optometry at The Ohio State University. That model, or “intrinsic bias,” is typically revealed when people have very little information about where an object is located, e.g., literally in the dark, and must make an educated guess. People usually underestimate the distance between themselves and an object, and as objects get farther away, the effect gets larger. “Our previous studies have shown that the intrinsic bias is an imaginary curve that extends from one’s feet and slants upward to the far distance,” Ooi told Live Science in an email. In the new study, 24 people were split into two groups of 12, based on their height. The average height (measured at the eyes) in the groups were 4 feet 11 inches (149.3 cm) and 5 feet 8 inches (173.4 cm). Over three experiments, objects were presented in different levels of light, with different amounts of information to help determine location. The people then guessed the distances to objects by a variety of means, such as pacing out the distance with t...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news