However, some married persons perceive less size distortion of their spouses than a stranger

I know that as the "honey" phenomenon, as in "No, honey, you're not fat."

Yeah, I don't know about that phenomenon but there is something about the people you see everyday not always having a realistic view of your body.

For instance - I see one of my parents pretty much every day or every other day and they never say anything about my weight. However, I only see my brother every 4-6 weeks and we both give each other total shit over weight if we notice a gain. Or if we notice a loss we give encouragement. It's just more readily noticeable when you haven't seen the person in a while.

Tonight I was at my mom's (for her birthday) and she said she'd gained a few pounds because of one of her meds. I didn't notice it when I first saw her but after she said that I thought, "huh, her face and gut are puffier."

What I just think is so weird is that the optical illusion works on men when looking at their wives, but it doesn't work on wives looking at their husbands, assuming the wives really love and trust their husbands.

The brain is so weird!

I would think this has something to do with attention to detail and the lack thereof, and how being with someone doesn't always make them less of a stranger.

Let's go to the WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE and check it out! I assume they'd have an Ames room.

Oh, great. Now I've set myself up for some sort of witch trial by fire. "If you really trusted me, I would look normal size!"

You might check the Exploratorium for an Ames Room.

Size judgements by men did not seem to be influenced...

That's because every guy is already convinced his size is "above average".