Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
Spring 2015
Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to investigate if people can accurately judge their ability to traverse a gap, and to observe if they exhibited a 'margin of safety' in their judgments. It is important that people are able to perceive their environment in such a way that promotes safe and successful action. Participants were asked to judge whether a gap was traversable. Participants were split into groups with varying constraints on the task in the experiment, where some participants had a time constraint and others did not. Participants gave a judgment for 36 randomized distances about whether or not they could cross the gap, whether they would step or leap over the gap, and how safe it would be to perform that action on a 7-point scale. We found that participants exhibited a "margin of safety" in their judgments. We also found that participants were able to recognize when a gap surpassed their actual maximum stepping ability and they exhibited increased safety ratings as a result.
Recommended Citation
Day, Brian, "The Perceived Preferred Critical Boundary as an Example of Gibson's Margin of Safety" (2015). Focus on Creative Inquiry. 137.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/foci/137
Comments
Poster presentation at Clemson University 10th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Forum, Clemson, SC.