The effects of familiar size on judgments of size and distance: An interaction of viewing attitude with spatial cues

Two hypotheses about the effects of familiar size on judgments of size and distance, the cue-conflict hypothesis and the viewing-attitude hypothesis, were examined. In Experiment 1, observers estimated the size and distance of familiar targets with apparent or assumptive instructions under three different spatial cue conditions. In Experiment 2, observers performed tasks similar to those of Experiment 1 with no specific instructions. The main results were: (1) Assumptive instructions facilitate the effects of familiar size in both size and distance judgments, but reducing spatial cues does not, and (2) viewing attitude changes from the apparent to the assumptive when available spatial cues are reduced. Thus, it was concluded that the viewing-attitude hypothesis gives a better account of the effects of familiar size, but that the cue-conflict hypothesis cannot be abandoned, because the number of conflicting cues contributes to the formation of viewing attitude.