The vista paradox: Framing or contrast?

Abstract

The vista paradox is the illusion in which an object seen through a window appears to shrink in apparent size (and appears farther away) as the observer approaches the window. Paradoxically, the distal object appears smaller as its visual angle increases. We investigated the effect in four experiments varying object size, distance, point of fixation, and texture of the frame and of the object. In the first experiment, we tried to confirm the illusion and to test the robustness of the phenomenon. In the second experiment, we manipulated where subjects fixated (on the frame or on the object) as well as the texture of the object and the frame. Fixation was essential for the illusion: fixating the frame led to an apparent shrinking of the object, whereas fixation on the object did not. Texture of the frame intensified the apparent shrinking of the object. In a third experiment, we separated the point of fixation from the frame in a between-subjects design. Finally, in Experiment 4, we showed that the paradox does not require a frame, but it requires a fixation on a location different from the object. That is, the window or frame is dispensable for the vista paradox, but fixation is critical.

Size Inflation in Drawing From Mirror and Proportional Accuracy in Observational Drawing

“…More experimental studies are surely needed to explicitly test the validity of the alternative explanation for both the vista paradox and the size inflation obtained in this study. For one thing, experiencing the vista paradox relies on the viewer to move from a more distant viewing location to a nearer one (Daum et al, 2015), while the reduction in size inflation obtained in this study does not. Consequently, what was found about the vista paradox may not apply to the mirror image inflation.…”

“…This alternative explanation is consistent with what has been known about the vista paradox (Walker et al, 1989), an illusion in which an object seen through a window appears to shrink in apparent size (and appears father away) as the observer approaches the window. Daum et al (2015) found that the illusion requires the observer to keep fixating on the window frame or a location other than that of the target. Fixating on the window frame while paying attention to an object within the window suggests a form of attention on the target-window proportion, a pictorial relationship that defines the vista in question.…”

Linear Perspective and Framing in the Vista Paradox

“…In the first two studies discussed in this article, we focused on a large-scale architectonical setting in which it is possible to experience a magnificent instance of the vista paradox. Previous studies (Daum et al., 2015; Walker et al., 1989) explored the phenomenon considering a 3 - to 3.5 -m distance between the observer and the frame, while in our case, we could assess the illusion on a length of 162.2 m. We observed a nonlinear trend in both the experimental and control conditions. The perceived change in size as a function of distance was emphasized in the first meters near the object.…”

“…Reinhardt-Rutland (1990) tried to explain the vista paradox with the effect of induced movement, while Daum, Both, Bertamini, and Hecht (2015) have investigated the illusion in a laboratory setting including a 3 -m corridor, a 20 × 20 cm aperture, and a target object represented by a cube of two sizes: 10 × 10 cm and 14 × 14 cm. The cube was positioned at three possible distances from the aperture: 135, 270, and 405 cm.…”

“…In Walker et al. (1989), for example, the participants assessed the phenomenon along a 3.5 -m corridor, while in Daum et al. (2015), the participants observed the target object along a 3 -m corridor in a laboratory setting.…”