Ponzo Perspective Illusion as a Manifestation of Space Perception

Leibowitz, H. W.; Brislin, Richard W.; Perlmutrer, L.; Hennessy, Robert T.

doi:10.1126/science.166.3909.1174

Cited by 142 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…In the case ofthe Ponzo illusion, the target bars appear longer as they approach the apex ofthe converging lines because these context lines provide a linear perspective. Actually, linear perspective superimposed on the Ponzo figure was shown to enhance the illusion in humans (Leibowitz, Brislin, Perlmutter, & Hennessy, 1969). This theory appears to give qualitative support for some of other illusions as well.…”

Section: Experiments 2 Effects Of Linear Perspectivementioning

confidence: 73%

Perception of the Ponzo illusion by rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans: Similarity and difference in the three primate species

Fujita

1997

Perception & Psychophysics

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In Experiment 1, 3 rhesus monkeys and 1 chimpanzee were tested for their susceptibility to the Ponzo illusion. The subjects were first trained to report the length of the target bar presented at the center of the computer display by touching either of the two choice locations designated as "long"or "short." When inverted-V context lines were superimposed on the target bar, the subjects tended to report "long" more often as the apex of these upward-converging lines approached the target bar. The perception of the Ponzo illusion was thus demonstrated. In Experiment 2, the same 3 rhesus monkeys and 2 new chimpanzees were tested using two types of context lines that provided different strengths of linear perspective. The subjects showed a bias similar to that found in Experiment 1,but there was no difference in the magnitude of the bias between the two types of context in either species. This failed to support the classic account for the Ponzo illusion, the perspective theory, raised by Gregory (1963). In Experiment 3, the magnitude of the illusion was compared between the inverted-V context and the context consisting of short vertical lines having the same gap as the former in the same 3 rhesus monkeys and 2 of the chimpanzees from the preceding experiments. While the chimpanzees showed the illusion for both types of stimuli, the monkeys showed no illusion for the latter. In Experiment 4, 6 humans were tested in a comparable procedure. As in the nonhuman primates, the illusion was unaffected by the strength of linear perspective. On the other hand, the humans showed considerably larger illusion for the context consisting of vertical lines than for contexts consisting of converging lines. Thus, there was a great species difference in the effect of the gap itself on the magnitude of the Ponzo illusion. Similarity found at first turned out to be no more than superficial. Possible sources of this species difference are discussed.Nonhuman primates are commonly used as a model in the study of human information processing, especially in neuroscience. The rationale of this lies in that they are the species closest to humans and at the least their fundamental perceptual processes ought to be similar to those of humans.Actually, for example, perception of some natural and geometric patterns has been shown to be similar not only among primates but also among species from different taxa

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Section: Experiments 2 Effects Of Linear Perspectivementioning

confidence: 73%

Perception of the Ponzo illusion by rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans: Similarity and difference in the three primate species

Fujita

1997

Perception & Psychophysics

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“…For instance, Kingdom et al (2007) proposed that the leaning tower illusion, in which the tilt of one of the two identical tower pictures is exaggerated, is based on the adoption of a perspective depth cue in the perception of object direction. In addition, others have proposed that the processing of perspective depth cues underlies the Ponzo illusion (Leibowitz et al 1969;Fujita 1996), and Mu« ller-Lyer illusion (Gregory 1966). Moreover, several studies have proposed that misadoption of the processing of depth information in a picture on a flat plane contributes to certain geometrical illusions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Angle Illusion in a Straight Road

et al. 2011

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We report a new angle illusion observed when viewing a real scene involving a straight road. The scene portrays two white lines which outline a traffic lane on a road and converge to a vanishing point. In experiment 1, observers estimated the angle created by these converging lines in this scene or in its image projected onto a screen. Results showed strong underestimation of the angle, ie over 50% for observations of both the real scene and its projected image. Experiment 2 assessed how depth cues in projected images influence the angle illusion. Results showed that this angle illusion disappeared when scene information surrounding convergent lines was removed. In addition, the illusion was attenuated with projection of an inverted scene image. These findings are interpreted in terms of a misadoption of depth information in the processing of angle perception in a flat image; in turn, this induces a massive angle illusion.

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“…One fact that must be accounted for is that the size scaling effects obtained in this experiment were small compared with those obtained in real scenes (Leibowitz et al, 1969). This could be accounted for in one of the following three ways:…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nature of size scaling in the Ponzo and related illusions

Gillam

1973

Perception & Psychophysics

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Ponzo Perspective Illusion as a Manifestation of Space Perception

Cited by 142 publications

References 5 publications

Perception of the Ponzo illusion by rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans: Similarity and difference in the three primate species

Perception of the Ponzo illusion by rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans: Similarity and difference in the three primate species

Angle Illusion in a Straight Road

The nature of size scaling in the Ponzo and related illusions

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