Alternate paths for the reversal of subjective appearance
Publication Type:
Conference PaperSource:
Perception 40 ECVP Abstract Supplement, p.87 (2011)URL:
http://www.perceptionweb.com/abstract.cgi?id=v110136Abstract:
<p>Reversals of illusory kinetic depth involve two aspects, namely, a reversal of volume and a reversal of motion. We have recently shown (Pastukhov, Vonau, Braun, in preparation) that these aspects can be dissociated and that different stimulus attributes govern the reversals of each aspect. Here we take advantage of the situation to study the driving forces of subjective reversals. Our starting point is an unstable transitional state, which is induced by means of a stimulus transient (eg motion stutter, motion inversion). This initial state relaxes to a stable subjective appearance, by reversing either its illusory motion or its illusory volume. Which of these two alternate paths is taken depends on several factors. Next to stimulus and attentional factors, the most interesting is the “repletion priming”, which progressively increases the probability that, once taken, a path is taken again. During a sequence of trials, this self-reinforcement eventually results in the almost complete dominance of one particular path. Reverse correlation techniques reveal that the influence of prior history is exclusively facilitatory.</p>
