Why do pitched horizontal lines have such a small effect on visually perceived eye level?

Abstract

In two experiments, visually perceived eye level (VPEL) was measured while subjects viewed two-dimensional displays that were either upright or pitched 20 degrees top-toward or 20 degrees top-away from them. In Experiment 1, it was demonstrated that binocular exposure to a pair of pitched vertical lines or to a pitched random dot pattern caused a substantial upward VPEL shift for the top-toward pitched array and a similarly large downward shift for the top-away array. On the other hand, the same pitches of a pair of horizontal lines (viewed binocularly or monocularly) produced much smaller VPEL shifts. Because the perceived pitch of the pitched horizontal line display was nearly the same as the perceived pitch of the pitched vertical line and dot array, the relatively small influence of pitched horizontal lines on VPEL cannot be attributed simply to an underestimation of their pitch. In Experiment 2, the effects of pitched vertical lines, dots, and horizontal lines on VPEL were again measured, together with their effects on resting gaze direction (in the vertical dimension). As in Experiment 1, vertical lines and dots caused much larger VPEL shifts than did horizontal lines. The effects of the displays on resting gaze direction were highly similar to their effects on VPEL. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that VPEL shifts caused by pitched visual arrays are due to the direct influence of these arrays on the oculomotor system and are not mediated by perceived pitch.