The apparent distance of interior and exterior corners: a test of Gregory's misapplied size constancy explanation for the Mueller-Lyer illusion.
Key to Gregory's misapplied size constancy explanation for the Mueller-Lyer illusion is the assumption that subjects perceive the central line segment of the fins-out figure, which is analogous to an interior corner, as projecting from a more distant object than does the central line segment of the fins-in figure, which is analogous to an exterior corner. We examined the validity of this assumption by having 20 college students judge the relative distance of three-dimensional model corners, presented in a monocular viewing box. The interior corner was perceived to be nearer than the exterior corner, indicating that the key assumption in Gregory's theory is either false or unfalsifiable.
Department of Psychology, University of Mississippi 38677.
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McGraw
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Stanford
D000328:Adult; D003867:Depth Perception; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004215:Distance Perception; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009903:Optical Illusions; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011601:Psychophysics; D012858:Size Perception