Spatial contextual cues that help predict how a target will accelerate can be used to guide interception

Objects in one's environment do not always move at a constant velocity but often accelerate or decelerate. People are very poor at visually judging acceleration and normally make systematic errors when trying to intercept accelerating objects. If the acceleration is perpendicular to the direction of motion, it gives rise to a curved path. Can spatial contextual cues help one predict such accelerations and thereby help interception? To answer this question, we asked participants to hit a target that moved as if it were attached to a rolling disk, like a valve (target) on a bicycle wheel (disk) moves when cycling: constantly accelerating toward the wheel's center. On half the trials, the disk was visible such that participants could use the spatial relations between the target and the rolling disk to guide their interception. On the other half, the disk was not visible, so participants had no help in predicting the target's complicated pattern of accelerations and decelerations. Importantly, the target's path was the same in both cases. Participants hit more targets when the disk was visible than when it was invisible, even when using a strategy that can compensate for neglecting acceleration. We conclude that spatial contextual cues that help predict the target's accelerations can help intercept it.