Abstract
Tests designed to measure biological motion perception have often confounded two or more distinct perceptual abilities. These abilities include structure-from-nonrigid-motion, figure-ground segregation, and processing of local motion invariants. We have developed a battery of tests that measure these abilities independently, in addition to higher level biological motion abilities including action recognition, movement style perception, and person recognition. Seventy-five participants completed the battery, allowing for an individual-differences analysis. The lack of correlation between scores on the tests provides support for the independence of the underlying processes. In order to assess robustness of the tests to differences in the experimental environment, and to measure test-retest reliability, we had 30 additional participants complete the battery both in the lab and on their home computers. There was no effect of environment for the majority of the tests. Together, the results suggest that the test battery efficiently measures the components of biological motion perception, and performs nearly as well under uncontrolled viewing conditions. One future use of the battery is to fully characterize the perceptual deficits of special populations with respect to biological motion.