Experimental study on the moon illusion

Research Project

Project/Area Number	20530662
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Experimental psychology
Research Institution	Niigata University
Principal Investigator	SUZUKI Kotaro Niigata University, 人文社会・教育科学系, 教授 (40179205)
Project Period (FY)	2008 – 2010
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2010)
Budget Amount *help	¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000) Fiscal Year 2010: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000) Fiscal Year 2009: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000) Fiscal Year 2008: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Keywords	月の錯視 / 大きさの知覚 / 視空間 / 視空間知覚 / 見かけの大きさ / 錯視 / 空間知覚
Research Abstract	The moon illusion is a phenomenon in which the moon on the horizon appear larger than the moon at the zenith. In Experiment 1 where the illusion was simulated in a darkened hall, the apparent size of the moon seen downward was compared with those seen in the horizontal or upward direction. The results suggested that the moon seen downward appeared smaller than that seen in the horizontal direction. In Experiment 2, a possible role of the binocular observation in inducing this illusion was examined under a natural outdoor setting. The results suggested that the binocular viewing played a critical role in this illusion.

Report