Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/11375/26947
Title: | The Effects of Texture on Perceived Step Height |
Authors: | Venkateshan, Shree Smruthi |
Advisor: | Sekuler, Allison Bennett, Patrick |
Department: | Psychology |
Publication Date: | 2021 |
Abstract: | Falls on stairs are a leading cause of injury and accidental death among older adults. Elliot and colleagues (2015) suggested that high-contrast gratings on step risers could increase perceived step height, thereby encouraging people to lift their feet appropriately to clear steps and reduce the likelihood of a fall. The present study attempted to replicate these findings and investigate the effects of contrast and context on perceived step height in young adults. In all experiments, stimuli were line drawings of a three-step staircase. Experiment 1 measured the perceived height of steps that contained high contrast textures (i.e., vertical square wave gratings) with different spatial frequencies. Grating contrast was manipulated in Experiments 2 and 3. In Experiment 4, stimulus context was varied by removing the top two steps of the staircase. In each experiment, participants were shown two images in randomized order on each trial: one contained the texture on the bottom step (test step) and the other did not (reference step). Participants judged which image contained the taller bottom step. The height of the reference step varied across trials using the method of constant stimuli, and the point of subjective equality was derived from psychometric functions that were fit to the data. We found that the presence of the texture increased the perceived height of the step and that the size of the effect was nearly constant across spatial frequencies. In addition, the perceived height of the step was greater with low contrast textures than high contrast textures. Finally, removing context reduced the perceived height. These results suggest that the perceived height of a step can indeed be affected by placing a texture on the step riser, which might lead to a safer stepping strategy. |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11375/26947 |
Appears in Collections: | Open Access Dissertations and Theses |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Venkateshan_Shree_S_2021Aug_MSc.pdf | 561.08 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Items in MacSphere are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.