Memory for target height is scaled to observer height

Abstract

According to the embodied approach to visual perception, individuals scale the environment to their bodies. This approach highlights the central role of the body for immediate, situated action. The present experiments addressed whether body scaling-specifically, eye-height scaling-occurs in memory when action is not immediate. Participants viewed standard targets that were either the same height as, taller than, or shorter than themselves. Participants then viewed a comparison target and judged whether the comparison was taller or shorter than the standard target. Participants were most accurate when the standard target height matched their own heights, taking into account postural changes. Participants were biased to underestimate standard target height, in general, and to push standard target height away from their own heights. These results are consistent with the literature on eye-height scaling in visual perception and suggest that body scaling is not only a useful metric for perception and action, but is also preserved in memory. © 2011 Psychonomic Society, Inc.