Réflexions sur le roˆle du langage dans l'analyse des organisations perceptives

Michotte, Albert

doi:10.1016/0001-6918(59)90011-3

Cited by 12 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The task of the observer in a perception experiment is nevertheless to a large extent a cognitive one-to describe or judge what he perceives (Michotte, 1959). Therefore it must be made very clear to the observer that his cognitive efforts should be directed towards communicating, in the most faithful way, his percepts-not towards elaborating and supplementing them.…”

Section: Sensory Psychophysicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the possibility of “smart” perceptual mechanisms

Runeson¹

1977

Scandinavian J Psychology

352

154

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A basic feature of some modem theories of perception is the notion of complex or higher order variables which are considered basic for perception. A distinction between "rote" and "smart" mechanisms is introduced and it is suggested that perception consists of smart mechanisms which directly register complex variables. A model of a perceiver, based on the smart polar planimeter, is constructed and used to illustrate the possible consequences of smart perceptual mechanisms for research in areas such as psychophysics, cognition, attention, and perceptual development and learning. 15, 17-34.

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Section: Sensory Psychophysicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the possibility of “smart” perceptual mechanisms

Runeson¹

1977

Scandinavian J Psychology

352

154

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“…Research on amodal completion ( Kanizsa, 1985 ; Michotte, Thinès, & Crabbé, 1964 ; van Lier & Gerbino, 2015 ), however, indicates that our mental representations of the occluded parts of a visual scene often have surprisingly much in common with ordinary visual representations. First, as illustrated in Figure 1 , our experience of the hidden parts of an object often involves a curious and compelling sense of “perceptual presence” ( Leddington, 2009 ) or “amodal presence” ( Michotte et al., 1964 ). Second, as also illustrated by the same demonstration, the processes underlying our experience of the occluded parts often seem to operate in an automatic and subjectively effortless way.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Third, our experience of the occluded parts of objects often has functional influences on other aspects of perceptual processing such as the perception of motion ( Holcombe, 2003 ; Kim, Feldman, & Singh, 2012 ; McDermott, Weiss, & Adelson, 2001 ; Scherzer & Ekroll, 2009 , 2012 ; Shimojo & Nakayama, 1990 ), object recognition ( Johnson & Olshausen, 2005 ), transparency perception ( Anderson & Schmid, 2012 ), and even the felt size of the observer’s own body parts ( Ekroll, Sayim, Van der Hallen, & Wagemans, 2016 ). Fourth, our experience of the hidden parts of objects is often impervious to conscious knowledge or reasoning ( Gerbino & Zabai, 2003 ; Kanizsa, 1985 ; Michotte et al., 1964 ; Nielsen, 2008 ). For instance, a semispherical shell viewed from the convex side will continue to look like a complete ball even when the observer knows that it is just a hollow shell ( Ekroll, Sayim, & Wagemans, 2013 ; Ekroll et al., 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amodal Volume Completion and the Thin Building Illusion

2018

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We report results from an experiment showing that a tall pillar with a triangular base evokes radically different three-dimensional (3D) percepts depending on the vantage point from which it is observed. The base of the pillar is an isosceles right triangle, but the pillar is perceived as just a thin plane when viewed from some vantage points. Viewed from other vantage points, the perceived 3D shape of the pillar corresponds to a square or rectangular base. In general, our results suggest that the visual system uses a preference for rectangularity (or symmetry) to determine the 3D shape of objects. The amodal impressions of the invisible backside of the pillar are often quite compelling, and the corresponding illusions persist even when the observers know the true shape of the pillar. Interestingly, though, the compellingness and definiteness of the amodal impression of the pillar’s backside depends on the vantage point. This is reflected in corresponding differences in the interobserver variability of the 3D shape judgments. We also discuss how variants of this illusion are used as a powerful tool in the art of magic.

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“…As it refers to occluded objects it would seem weird to categorize it as a visual phenomenon, but on the other hand, it is very similar to visual phenomena in other regards. In particular, as emphasized by several researchers ( Ekroll, Mertens, et al., 2018 ; Ekroll et al., 2016 ; Gerbino & Zabai, 2003 ; Kanizsa, 1985 ; Michotte et al., 1964 ), illusions based on amodal completion tend to persist in spite of conflicting conscious knowledge, in the same way as visual illusions at large. That is, they are cognitively impenetrable ( Firestone & Scholl, 2016 ; Pylyshyn, 1999 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 87%

“…The illusion of absence is reminiscent of the well-known phenomenon of amodal completion ( Figure 1C and D ) because it also refers to a curiously compelling experience of occluded regions in a visual scene. Amodal completion refers to experiences of complete objects partially hidden behind an occluder, which are particularly compelling although only a few fragments of the object are directly visible ( Kanizsa, 1985 ; Michotte et al., 1964 ; Scherzer & Faul, 2019 ; Thielen et al., 2019 ; Van Lier & Gerbino, 2015 ). Figure 1D , for instance, evokes a very compelling experience of a single long finger, rather than the two separate fingers, which are aligned behind the cylinder ( Figure 1C ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Illusion of Absence in Magic Tricks

2020

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Recently, a curious illusion of absence has been described, where the space behind an occluder is compellingly experienced as empty. This illusion is similar to illusions based on amodal completion in the sense that it refers to occluded portions of a visual scene and informal observations suggest that it may also be largely impervious to conscious knowledge. The aim of the present experiment was to test the hypothesis that the illusion of absence is cognitively impenetrable in the same way as amodal completion. Participants viewed magic tricks based on amodal completion, the illusion of absence, or attentional and reasoning misdirection and tried to infer the secret behind the tricks after one, two, or three presentations. The results show that the tricks based on the illusion of absence are very difficult to debunk, even after repeated presentations. In this regard, they are similar to tricks based on amodal completion but different from tricks based on attentional and reasoning misdirection. The participants also rated how magical they felt the tricks were. Surprisingly, the magic ratings tended to be quite high even in trials where the participants had already discovered the secret behind the trick. This unexpected finding may be taken to suggest that there may be two magical moments in the lifetime of a magic trick: In addition to the magical experience evoked by trick itself, discovering the secret behind the trick may also evoke an experience of impossibility.

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Réflexions sur le roˆle du langage dans l'analyse des organisations perceptives

Cited by 12 publications

References 4 publications

On the possibility of “smart” perceptual mechanisms

On the possibility of “smart” perceptual mechanisms

Amodal Volume Completion and the Thin Building Illusion

The Illusion of Absence in Magic Tricks

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