Focusing on an illusion: Accommodating to perceived depth?

Ocular accommodation potentially provides information about depth but there is little evidence that this information is used by the human visual system. We use the hollow-face illusion, an illusion of depth reversal, to investigate whether accommodation is linked to perceived depth. In Experiment 1 accommodation, like vergence, was in front of the physical surface of the mask when the mask was upright and people reported experiencing the illusion. Accommodation to the illusory face did not differ significantly from accommodation to the physically convex back surface of the same mask. Only accommodation to the inverted mask seen as hollow was significantly less and, like the physical surface, beyond the mid-plane of the mask. The effect on accommodation was the same for monocular as binocular viewing, showing that accommodation is not driven by binocular disparities through vergence, although voluntary vergence remains a possibility. In Experiment 2 a projected random dot pattern was used to flip perception between convex and concave in all presentation conditions. Accommodation was again in front of the physical surface when the illusion was experienced. Experiment 3 showed that projected dots are more effective in disambiguating the illusion as concave when they are sharp and provide a good accommodative stimulus than when they are objectively blurred. We interpret Experiments 1 and 2 as showing that accommodation is tied to perceived depth, directly or indirectly, even in a situation where multiple depth cues are available and feedback is not artificially open-looped. Experiment 3 is consistent with accommodation helping to disambiguate depth while not ruling out alternative explanations.

Efeito do álcool na ilusão da máscara côncava: uma revisão / Effect of alcohol on the hollow-face illusion: a review / Efecto del alcohol en la ilusión de la máscara cóncava: una revisión

A ilusão da máscara côncava ocorre quando o observador a determinada distância percebe uma máscara facial côncava como convexa. Isso pode ser explicado pela sobreposição dos processos de alta ordem da percepção visual sobre os de baixa ordem. Pesquisas com indivíduos intoxicados e em Síndrome de Abstinência do Álcool (SAA) revelaram um prejuízo em perceber essa ilusão. O objetivo foi realizar uma revisão da literatura sobre o tema. Após buscas em bases indexadas, cinco pesquisas foram encontradas. Os resultados para os alcoolistas em SAA moderada revelaram uma menor frequência nas respostas de percepção da ilusão. Os resultados foram contraditórios quanto ao grupo de alcoolistas com SSA leve. Pesquisas futuras com metodologias diferentes são necessárias para testar as hipóteses explicativas da ilusão da máscara côncava em alcoolistas. É importante considerar os processos de tomada de decisão do observador diante da observação dos objetos como base a Teoria de Detecção de Sinal (TDS)

The hollow-face illusion happens when the observer perceives a concave facial mask as convex, at a given distance. This can be explained by the overlap of top-down on bottom-up visual processes. Researches demonstrated that intoxicated and Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome (AWS) individuals had deficit in perceiving this illusion. This study aimed to review the literature on this topic. A survey of indexed databases found five studies. The results for alcoholics with moderate AWS were similar and showed a lower frequency in the answers of illusion perception. However, results were contradictory to the alcoholic group with mild AWS. Future researches with different methodologies are necessary to test the hollow-face illusion hypotheses in alcoholics. Therefore, it is also important to consider the observer's decision-making processes in the objects observation based on the Signal Detection Theory (SDT)

La ilusión de la máscara cóncava ocurre cuando el observador a cierta distancia percibe una máscara facial cóncava como convexa. Esto puede ser explicado por la superposición de los procesos de alto orden de la percepción visual sobre los de bajo orden. Las investigaciones con individuos intoxicados y en el Síndrome de Abstinencia del Alcohol (SAA) revelaron un perjuicio en percibir esa ilusión. El objetivo fue realizar una revisión de la literatura sobre el tema. Después de buscar en bases indexadas, se encontraron cinco encuestas. Los resultados para los alcohólicos en SAA moderada revelaron una menor frecuencia en las respuestas de percepción de la ilusión. Los resultados fueron contradictorios en cuanto al grupo de alcohólicos con SSA leve. Las investigaciones futuras con metodologías diferentes son necesarias para probar las hipótesis explicativas de la ilusión de la máscara cóncava en alcohólicos. Es importante considerar los procesos de toma de decisión del observador ante la observación de los objetos como base la Teoría de Detección de Señal (TDS)

Efeitos da cor, iluminação e rotação na ilusão estereoscópica da máscara côncava / The hollow face illusion strength in stereoscopic viewing condition under effects of color, ligthning orientation and rotation

Na ilusão da máscara côncava, o reverso côncavo da máscara é percebido como uma face convexa. Esta pesquisa objetivou investigar a robustez dessa ilusão em fotografias de estereogramas da máscara côncava sob variações de cor, iluminação e rotação. Quarenta observadores julgaram como côncava, plana ou convexa máscaras côncavas cinza e policromada, iluminadas por cima, baixo, direita, esquerda, e invertida iluminada por baixo, apresentadas num monitor. A maioria julgou a máscara côncava como convexa. Eles também reproduziram, em centímetros, a profundidade percebida entre a ponta do nariz da máscara e sua base. Não foi observado efeito para a cor, F(1,39)=0,22; p>0,05, mas ocorreu um efeito principal para a direção da iluminação, F(4,156)=11,35; p<0,05. Observou-se uma diferença significativa entre estimativas da posição da máscara côncava monocromada, t(39)=2,12; p<0,05. Maiores estimativas foram designadas às máscaras côncavas posicionadas verticalmente iluminadas por baixo. Estes resultados indicaram a atuação dos processos top-down sobre os bottom-up. (AU)

The hollow-face illusion is an optical illusion in which the perception of a concave mask appears as a convex face. The goal of this study was to investigate the strength of this illusion under different sources of illumination, face color and positioning into stereographic photos. Forty participants judged, in a computer screen, the hollow-face illuminated from above, below, left, and right, and in the upside-down position illuminated from below, as concave, plain or convex. Most of them judged the reverse mask as convex. They also reproduced, in centimeters, the perceived depth of the mask using a retractable tape measure. No significant difference was observed between the colors, F(1,39)=.22; p>.05. But there was an effect in the illumination directions, F(4,156)=11.35; p<.05. The position affected the depth perception of a monochrome hollow-face, t(39)=2.12; p<.05. Higher estimates were designated to the hollow-face in the upright position. These results indicated top-down overlapped bottom-up processing. (AU)

Pinhole Viewing Strengthens the Hollow-Face Illusion.

A hollow (concave) mask appears convex when viewed from beyond a certain distance even when viewed stereoscopically-this is the hollow-face illusion. At close viewing distances, the same mask is seen as hollow even when disparity information is eliminated by monocular viewing. A potential source of nonpictorial, monocular information that favors a veridical percept at close distances is accommodation in conjunction with focus blur. In this article, we used pinhole viewing to minimize this potential source of information and test whether it affects whether a hollow mask is seen as veridical (concave) or illusory (convex). Since monocular viewing also facilitates the illusory (convex) percept, it was included in the design both as a comparison and to test whether any effect of accommodation depends on vergence. Pinhole viewing was found favor the illusory percept, and its effect was at least as large as, and added to, that of monocular viewing. A control experiment using tinted glasses that attenuate illumination at least as much as the pinholes did not strengthen the illusion ruling out explanations in terms of reduced luminance. For pinhole viewing, there was no difference between monocular and binocular conditions. The results are interpreted as evidence that focus driven depth information affects perceived three-dimensional shape at close distances even when other sources of depth information are available. The lack of a difference between monocular and binocular pinhole viewing suggests that, by disrupting accommodation, pinholes may also interfere with linked vergence cues to depth.

The hollow-face illusion in infancy: do infants see a screen based rotating hollow mask as hollow?

We investigated whether infants experience the hollow-face illusion using a screen-based presentation of a rotating hollow mask. In experiment 1 we examined preferential looking between rotating convex and concave faces. Adults looked more at the concave-illusory convex-face which appears to counter rotate. Infants of 7- to 8-month-old infants preferred the convex face, and 5- to 6-month-olds showed no preference. While older infants discriminate, their preference differed from that of adults possibly because they don't experience the illusion or counter rotation. In experiment 2 we tested preference in 7- to 8-month-olds for angled convex and concave static faces both before and after habituation to the stimuli shown in experiment 1. The infants showed a novelty preference for the static shape opposite to the habituation stimulus, together with a general preference for the static convex face. This shows that they discriminate between convex and concave faces and that habituation to either transfers across a change in view. Seven- to eight-month-olds have been shown to discriminate direction of rigid rotation on the basis of perspective changes. Our results suggest that this, perhaps together with a weaker bias to perceive faces as convex, allows these infants to see the screen-based hollow face as hollow even though adults perceive it as convex.

Cor, iluminação e orientação do reverso de uma máscara facial não afetam a ilusão da máscara côncava / Color, illumination and orientation of a hollow mask do not affect the hollow-face illusion

Em condição monocular, 40 observadores julgaram o reverso côncavo de uma máscara facial monocromada cinza e de outra policromada (iluminados por cima, por baixo, pela direita e pela esquerda na posição vertical e na posição vertical invertida, iluminado por baixo) como côncavos, planos ou convexos. Além disso, as magnitudes dos seus relevos percebidos foram reproduzidas ao se esticar uma trena retrátil. Independente da cor, iluminação e orientação das máscaras, a maioria das respostas indicou que os reversos das máscaras foram percebidos como convexos. E mesmo nas poucas respostas em que as máscaras foram classificadas como planas, houve atribuição de relevo mensurável. Estes resultados confirmam que a ilusória profundidade da máscara facial côncava como convexa é robusta sob influência de variáveis diversas, o que sugere atuação predominante de processos de alta ordem sobre os processos de baixa ordem na percepção visual de faces.

With monocular viewing, forty observers judged a monochrome-gray and a polychrome hollow face mask (illuminated from above, from below, from the right and from the left, and upside-down illuminated form below) as inward deep, flat or outward deep. They were also asked to reproduce the perceived depth of the mask by pulling out a tape measure. Regardless of color, illuminating condition and mask orientation, most of the responses indicated that the hollow faces were perceived as outward deep. Even in the few occasions in which the masks were reported flat, measurable depths were assigned on the tape measure. These results support that the hollow face illusion is robust even under diverse variable effects, which suggest preponderant top-down over bottom-up processes on visual face perception.

Cor, iluminação e orientação do reverso de uma máscara facial não afetam a ilusão da máscara côncava / Color, illumination and orientation of a hollow mask do not affect the hollow-face illusion

Em condição monocular, 40 observadores julgaram o reverso côncavo de uma máscara facial monocromada cinza e de outra policromada (iluminados por cima, por baixo, pela direita e pela esquerda na posição vertical e na posição vertical invertida, iluminado por baixo) como côncavos, planos ou convexos. Além disso, as magnitudes dos seus relevos percebidos foram reproduzidas ao se esticar uma trena retrátil. Independente da cor, iluminação e orientação das máscaras, a maioria das respostas indicou que os reversos das máscaras foram percebidos como convexos. E mesmo nas poucas respostas em que as máscaras foram classificadas como planas, houve atribuição de relevo mensurável. Estes resultados confirmam que a ilusória profundidade da máscara facial côncava como convexa é robusta sob influência de variáveis diversas, o que sugere atuação predominante de processos de alta ordem sobre os processos de baixa ordem na percepção visual de faces.(AU)

With monocular viewing, forty observers judged a monochrome-gray and a polychrome hollow face mask (illuminated from above, from below, from the right and from the left, and upside-down illuminated form below) as inward deep, flat or outward deep. They were also asked to reproduce the perceived depth of the mask by pulling out a tape measure. Regardless of color, illuminating condition and mask orientation, most of the responses indicated that the hollow faces were perceived as outward deep. Even in the few occasions in which the masks were reported flat, measurable depths were assigned on the tape measure. These results support that the hollow face illusion is robust even under diverse variable effects, which suggest preponderant top-down over bottom-up processes on visual face perception.(AU)