Abstract
GREGORY1 offers a general account of visual illusions, relating the apparent distortions in them to the perceptual process of size constancy. He observes that Tausch is the only previous writer to have considered constancy in relation to illusions. However, Gibson2 has incorporated illusory perceptions within the context of size constancy, and suggests that perception of size is a by-product of a constant scale, which Gregory calls ‘constancy scaling’, at different distances. Arguing that illusory figures are “flat projections of typical views of objects lying in three-dimensional space”, Gregory notes that “the parts of the figure corresponding to distant objects are expanded and the parts corresponding to nearer objects reduced”. He states the same principle more simply when he writes: “Those parts of the figures which would normally be further away in 3-D space appear too large in the illusion figures”3. These principles are applied to a series of illusions, including those of Müller-Lyer, Ponzo and Hering. Gregory therefore postulates a common process modifying retinal images in constancy scaling and in the perception of illusory figures.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Gregory, R. L., Nature, 199, 678 (1963).
Gibson, J. J., The Perception of the Visual World (Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1950).
Gregory, R. L., Listener, 16, 1736 (1962).
Gregory, R. L., Nature, 199, 679 (1963).
Green, R. T., and Hoyle, E. M., Nature, 200, 611 (1963).
Gibson, J. J., op. cit., 174.
Houssiadas, L., and Brown, L. B., Austral. J. Psychol., 15, 100 (1963).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
BROWN, L., HOUSSIADAS, L. Illusory Perception as a Constancy Phenomenon. Nature 204, 302 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/204302a0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/204302a0
This article is cited by
-
Optical Illusions
Nature (1966)
-
Inappropriate Constancy Explanation of Spatial Distortions
Nature (1965)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.