Talk by Dr. Simon Merz (University Trier): "The speed prior account: Exploring the mechanism underlying the perception of dynamic stimuli", 07.06.2023, 14:15 - 15:15 Uhr

The speed prior account: Exploring the mechanism underlying the perception of dynamic stimuli

Dr. Simon Merz (Department of Psychology, University of Trier)

Our perception of dynamic, moving stimuli is prone to systematic biases. Perceptual shifts in (forward) as well as against (backward) the direction of motion have consistently been reported when people localize the first (onset) or final (offset) location of a dynamic, moving stimulus, the so-called Fröhlich, Representational Momentum, Onset-repulsion, and Offset-repulsion effects. In this talk, I propose a new theory to unite the existing evidence under a single explanatory framework: the speed prior account. The perceived location is suggested to reflect the combination of the sensory input, which is associated with uncertainty, and a prior expectation about the likely speed of a stimulus. Discrepancies between the prior speed expectation and actual stimulus speed then result in a distortion of perceived stimulus speed, resulting in the aforementioned localization biases. In order to investigate this new framework as well as contrast the predictions of the speed prior account against the predictions from classical theories, empirical evidence from several experiments are reported and discussed.