Cross-modality matches of finger span and line length

Perceived finger span—the perceived spatial separation between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the index finger—was measured by using cross-modal matching to line length. In the first experiment, subjects adjusted finger span to match the length of line segments presented on a video monitor, and conversely, with both hands. Subjects also made estimates of finger span in physical units (“dead reckoning”). Finger spans were measured by using infrared LEDs mounted on the tip of the thumb and the finger tip, so the hand made no contact with any object during the experiment. Unlike in previous studies, the results suggest that perceived finger span is proportional to line length and slightly shorter than the actual span, provided that corrections are made for regression bias. The effect of finger contact was assessed in a second experiment by matching line length both to free span and to spans constrained by the pinching of blocks in the same session. The matching function when subjects were pinching blocks was accelerating, consistent with previous reports. In contrast, matched line length was a decelerating function of free span. The exponent of the free span matching function in the second experiment was slightly smaller than in the first experiment, probably due to uncorrected matching biases in the second experiment.