Test of Gregory's Constancy Scaling Explanation of the Müller–Lyer Illusion

Nature ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 227 (5259) ◽  
pp. 733-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
HARRISON WAITE ◽  
DOMINIC W. MASSARO
Keyword(s):  
Lyer Illusion ◽  
Constancy Scaling

Triangles and Squares Look Smaller Than They are: Some New Illusions of Extent

Perception ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 701-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Treisman
Keyword(s):  
Local Scale ◽  
Lyer Illusion ◽  
Scaling Hypothesis ◽  
Constancy Scaling ◽  
Configurations Of Lines

Some new illusions of extent are described, and they are discussed in relation to the Müller-Lyer illusion and the constancy-scaling hypothesis. It is concluded that they support a minimal version of this hypothesis in which certain configurations of lines cause changes in local scale in certain directions, independently of whether or not these configurations are incorporated in larger patterns in a way which supports and receives a depth interpretation.

Susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer Illusion and its Relationship to Differences in Size Constancy

1966 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vernon Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Size Constancy ◽  
Direct Test ◽  
Perceptual Inference ◽  
Lyer Illusion ◽  
Perceptual Style ◽  
Constancy Scaling

The hypothesis that susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer illusion is the result of normal constancy scaling, misapplied, was submitted to direct test. No significant correlations between illusion error and size constancy estimates were obtained. Also invalidated were hypotheses that under-constancy is correlated with non-susceptibility to the illusion, and that over-constancy is correlated with greater illusion error. The results suggest that an approach to the explanation of illusion effects by means of analysing individual differences in size constancy, in intelligence and preferred “perceptual style,” might be fruitful. Some tentative suggestions are made concerning the role of perceptual inference, abstraction and analysing.

Inappropriate Constancy Scaling Theory and the Mueller-Lyer Illusion

1981 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore M. Madden ◽  
George S. Burt
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Experience ◽  
Visual Illusion ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Scaling Theory ◽  
Lyer Illusion ◽  
Field Patterns ◽  
Angular Change ◽  
Constancy Scaling ◽  
Wooden Dowel

Gregory's Inappropriate Constancy Scaling explanation for visual illusion was investigated. If perceptual experience with real-life edges and angles, near and far, leads to constancy scaling which is inappropriately applied to the Mueller-Lyer configuration, then configurations which are based upon angles of regard in between the two extreme field patterns would produce illusory effects between the two conventional Mueller-Lyer effects. A model representing one edge of a cubic figure, i.e., one vertical and four horizontal lines, was constructed of wooden dowel rods and photographed at predetermined angles. Transparencies based on the photographed images were then used to determine the PSE at each of these angles. Generally, we interpret our results as supportive of the theory, since PSEs increase as a function of angular change from 0° to 180°. The linear trend is complicated by an unexpected cubic trend, but an explanation is proposed.

‘Reversed’ Illusion with Three-Dimensional Müller-Lyer Shapes

Perception ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1281-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romi Nijhawan
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Image ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Retinal Images ◽  
Coordinate Frame ◽  
Illusion Figure ◽  
Lyer Illusion ◽  
Straight Line ◽  
Constancy Scaling ◽  
Image Shape ◽  
Straight Lines

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Müller-Lyer illusion is produced by a mechanism which uses information defined in the retinal coordinates, or by a mechanism taking into account the three-dimensional (3-D) shape of the illusion figure. The classical Müller-Lyer figure could not be used to address this question since it is two-dimensional. Three-dimensional Müller-Lyer figures were created to see if the illusion they produce is correlated with the shape of the projected retinal image, or with the shape of these figures defined in a 3-D coordinate frame. In the experiments retinal image shape was juxtaposed against the 3-D shape of the illusion displays. For some displays the direction in which the fins pointed, relative to the shafts, in the 3-D frame was the ‘opposite’ of the direction in which they pointed in the retinal images. For such displays, the illusion predicted on the basis of the 3-D structure was the opposite of that predicted on the basis of retinal image shapes. For another 3-D display the fins were oriented such that each projected a single straight line in the retinal image, thus the typical retinal image (< >, > <) was replaced by straight lines (‖, ‖). For all the displays the observed illusion was consistent with how the fins were oriented relative to the shaft in the 3-D coordinate frame, ie with the 3-D shape of the illusion displays. The retinal image shape appeared to play little, if any, role. One conclusion that emerges is that the specific retinal image shape projected by the classical line-drawn pattern is neither necessary nor sufficient for producing the illusion. The present findings are inconsistent with two well known theories of the Müller-Lyer illusion: inappropriate constancy scaling and selective filtering.

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