Ambiguity of form: Old and new

Fisher, Gerald H.

doi:10.3758/bf03210466

Cited by 42 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The present state of affairs leads to the reasonable conclusion that ambiguity in reversible figures stems from several different factors which may be of both peripheral and central origin. The perceptual mechanisms involved in the spontaneous structuring and restructuring of both reversible and ambiguous figures (figures which have alternating appearances but remain in the same depth plane, e.g., Rubin's "chalice/ faces" figure; Fisher, 1968), are closely related. Estimation of the relevant importance of the contribution made through different factors to the Necker cube remains largely unchallenged, perhaps because perception of the Necker cube is affected by influences intrinsic to the perceiving individual.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The result is an illusion or a perceptual distortion. Visual illusions can be classified as geometric, ambiguous, or reversible (Fisher, 1968), and in each class of illusionistic phenomena there are great differences of opinion regarding the nature and explanation of the illusions. Research into visual illusions has concentrated on presentation procedures, prior exposures, and clinical studies of the influence of sex, age, motivation, along with cognitive, personality, and developmental variables upon features of perceptual organization, (Gillam, 1980;Gregory, 1971).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determinants involved in the perception of the necker cube: An application of catastrophe theory

Ta'eed

Wright

1988

Syst. Res.

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The study is concerned with evaluating interactions at the organic level within the visual perception subsystem of living systems. The reported work focuses on the identification of some of the determinants of multistable perception by experimentally testing a nonlinear dynamical systems (catastrophe) model of the Necker Cube. This technique serves as an advantage over linear threshold models which cannot effectively study multivalued functional relationships. It was proposed that manipulation of two independent control parameters (bias or changing shape by continuously varying perspective lines and selective stimulus shading) was compatible with the subjective dichotomy of bistable perception of the Necker cube. One hundred and twenty naive subjects, categorized by age, sex, and optical aids, were presented with a computer-generated sequence of 63 stimuli (7 shading levels X 9 perspective levels) to which they had to respond as to whether they saw a "hollow" or "solid" image. The work revealed that bias and shading exerted their effects in opposition and that each influenced the other. Both were decisive factors involved in the perception of the cube. These findings are supported by topological and psychological evidence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants involved in the perception of the necker cube: An application of catastrophe theory

Ta'eed

Wright

1988

Syst. Res.

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“…Other ambiguous figures are also asymmetrical, although few of the classic ambiguous figures have been accompanied by the sort of normative data provided here. However, systematic comparisons of various versions of classic ambiguous figures make clear that many of them are not "equi-ambiguous" (Fisher, 1967a(Fisher, , 1967b(Fisher, , 1967c(Fisher, , 1968a; see also Girgus, Rock, & Egatz, 1977;Mitroff, Sobel, & Gopnik, 2006;Peterson et al, 1992;Peterson, 1993;Rock & Mitchener, 1992). Adult subjects find it easier to see a duck or other bird in most versions of the duck-rabbit figure, including Jastrow's original (Brugger, 1999)except on Easter Sunday, when the rabbit strongly prevails (Brugger & Brugger, 1993).…”

Section: Organization Of Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Orientation and Experience in the Perception of Form: A Study with the Arizona Whale–Kangaroo

Kihlstrom

Peterson

McConkey

et al. 2018

The American Journal of Psychology

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When subjects are presented with the Arizona whale–kangaroo, an ambiguous figure, perception of the whale is more common than perception of the kangaroo. However, this difference is smaller in Australian than American subjects. Perception of the kangaroo is more orientation dependent than perception of the whale, which is perceived at all orientations of the stimulus. Together with the difference between subject populations, this effect reveals an influence of past experience on the perception of this new ambiguous figure. Perception of the whale versus the kangaroo differs in both reconstrual of parts and realignment of the object-centered reference frame. Observers report reference frame reconstruals before reference frame reversals, shedding light on the organization of object memory.

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“…At the time there was also a shift towards quantitative psychophysical methods to examine binocular rivalry. Other lines of enquiry that developed during this period were the psychophysics of structure-from-motion perception and bistable motion phenomena (Braunstein, 1976;Wallach & O'Connell, 1953), and a cognitive processing approach to studies of ambiguous figures and form perception (e.g., Fisher, 1968;Vickers, 1972). With binocular rivalry, novel experiments conducted by Robert Fox, Paul Whittle and Willem Levelt, for example, revealed further key features of the phenomenon (see Blake, 2005;chapter by Brascamp & Baker, this volume).…”

Section: Alternations In Attention and Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Binocular rivalry, brain stimulation and bipolar disorder

Ngo

Barsdell

Law

et al. 2013

The Constitution of Visual Consciousness

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Contributions from 19th Century scholars to binocular rivalry research are well recognized, however, observations concerning the phenomenon commenced centuries earlier and suggest a rich seam of research that is much less well known. This chapter discusses these early investigations, along with conflicting views and observations thereafter. We also discuss the early application of notions of attention and consciousness to rivalry. Such notions have more recently been the subject of concerted investigation into distinguishing brain activity mediating the rivaling states from that underlying visual stimulation. Observations in the literature that preceded this key principle are discussed. We also trace the rivalry studies that followed and note their relevance to current thinking on the phenomenon. * TTN supported by NHMRC (ID 490976). We thank Steven Miller and Jakob Hohwy for providing helpful comments on the manuscript.

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Ambiguity of form: Old and new

Cited by 42 publications

References 16 publications

Determinants involved in the perception of the necker cube: An application of catastrophe theory

Determinants involved in the perception of the necker cube: An application of catastrophe theory

Orientation and Experience in the Perception of Form: A Study with the Arizona Whale–Kangaroo

Binocular rivalry, brain stimulation and bipolar disorder

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