Three-part Oppel-Kundt illusory figure

Algis Bertulis, Tadas Surkys, Aleksandr Bulatov, Algirdas Gutauskas

Institute of Biology, Kaunas University of Medicine, Lithuania

Key words: filled-space illusion; length matching.

Summary. The Oppel-Kundt illusion was examined in the psychophysical experiments with the classical two-part stimuli and modified three-part figures. The modified versions comprised either one filled medial interval and two empty flanking intervals or one empty space situated in between two fillings. The illusion was measured as a function of the number of filling elements in the referential parts of the figures. The curves obtained by two modified figures and by the original two-part stimulus were quite similar in shape, but the magnitudes of the illusions differed significantly. The figure with two filled intervals yielded about twice-stronger illusory effect than the contrasting figure with a single filled and two empty intervals. The two-part stimulus showed the illusion magnitudes in the midst. Our assumption suggests the illusory effect being related particularly to overestimations of the filled interval when compared with the empty interval displayed side-to-side. The unfilled interval might not contribute to the illusion.

Correspondence to T. Surkys, Institute of Biology, Kaunas University of Medicine, Eivenių 4, 50009 Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: surkys@vision.kmu.lt

Received 29 December 2008, accepted 6 November 2009