Problem
To demonstrate how illusion occurs in perception by using the Muller-Lyer Illusion test.
Hypothesis
he subject would experience a higher amount of illusion in ascending order over
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descending order of presentation.
Introduction:
ensation
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Any tangible, conscious experience that is brought on by the activation of a particular
senseorgan,sensorynerve,orsensoryregioninthebrainisreferredtoasasensation.
Psychologists and physiologists who aremoreorientedtowardempiricalresearchtend
toseesensationasanotionthatisdefinedintermsofdependentconnectionsbetween
an organism's selective responses and the characteristics of physical inputs. A
laboratory animal or a human being can be trained to respond differently to different
parts of the stimuli to determine sensory functioning characteristics.
Sensations can be classified into two categories:
. General sensations: which include touch, pain, temperature, proprioception, and
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pressure.
2. Special Senses: vision, hearing, taste, and smell which convey sensations to the
brain through cranial nerves.
ensory Threshold
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The smallest stimulus an organism can detect is known as the sensory threshold. It is
often described as the weakest stimulus that can be recognized 50% of the time, for
instance, as shown by a point on a probability curve, unless otherwise stated. There are
procedures for calculating thresholds in any of the senses.
Various kinds of sensory thresholds have been defined.
Absolute threshold: the lowest level at which a stimulus can be detected.
ecognition threshold: the level at which a stimulus can not only be detected but also
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recognized.
ifferential threshold: the level at which an increase in a detected stimulus can be
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perceived.
Terminal threshold: the level beyond which a stimulus is no longer detected.
Gestalt Psychology
he 20th-century psychology movement known as Gestalt psychology laid the
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groundwork for the current study of perception. Gestalt theory stresses that everything
is greater as a whole than the sum of its parts. That is, it is not possible to infer the
characteristics of the whole from the study of its constituent components separately. In
contemporary German, the word "gestalt" refers to how something has been "placed" or
"put together."
hereisn'tadirecttranslationintoEnglish.Theconventionaltranslationsare"form"and
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"shape";inpsychology,thewordissometimestranslatedas"pattern"or"configuration."
There are six distinct concepts that are frequently connected to gestalt philosophy;
● Law of similarity
● Law of continuation
● Law of closure
● Law of proximity
● Law of good figure
● Law of symmetry
erception
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In order to represent and comprehend the information or environment being given,
perception involves the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory data.
Signals that go through the neural system as a result of chemical or physical activation
of the sensory organs are involved in all perception.
Factors affecting perception
1. Motivation- A perceiver's needs and aspirations have a significant impact on how
they interpret certain stimuli.
2. Cognitive styles- refer to the consistence way of dealing with our environment. 3.
Expectation or perceptual sets- expectations about what we might perceive in a
given situation.
4. Cultural background and experiences- different experiences and learning
opportunities available to people in different cultural settings affect our
perception.
Depth Perceptionis the ability to perceive three-dimensionalspace and to accurately
judge distance.
e wouldn't be able to operate a car, thread a needle, or even just go across the
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grocery store without depth awareness (Howard & Rogers, 2001). According to
research, the ability to perceive depth is partly inherited and partly acquired via
experience (Witherington, 2005). Our utilization of depth cues, signals from our body,
and information about space and distance from the outside world all contribute to how
we perceive depth.
Monocular Cuesrefer to the ways that each of youreyes takes in visual information
that's used to judge:
● distance
● depth
● three-dimensional space
Images are viewed as two-dimensional with the use of monocular signals. Consider a
painting where the foreground and background are used to create the appearance of
depth. In the actual world, objects that are near are bigger and move more quickly while
those in the background are smaller and move more slowly. These are your eye and
monocular cues.
That's the high-level idea behind monocular cues.
Visual information, as seen with a single eye. can detect an object moving at a distance,
but can't necessarily decipher the entire scene.
Types of monocular cues; there are six main sub categories that contribute to our vision.
●Relative size
You can determine how far away something is using this monocular cue. It functions by
determining the object's size and what that signifies in comparison to other items you
have previously dealt with.
● Interposition
Refers to the phenomenon where two things on a flat surface, such as a drawing of two
circles, appear to be related to one another in terms of distance even if they are not in
3-D space.
● Linear perspective
It occurs when the angles of two nearby objects and the space between them appear to
be getting smaller and narrower. Because of this, your eye perceives those items as
getting farther and farther away from you. Take a road or railroad track that extends into
the distance as an illustration. At the bottom of your sheet of paper, you might begin
drawing the rails or each side of the road. The lines could converge more closely toward
the center of the page as you continue to depict the road or rails moving "away" from
you. A triangle form will arise from this.
● Aerial perspective
It is what gives distant things a slightly blurrier, lighter in color, and less detailed
appearance than ones that are closer to you. Mountain ranges far away come to mind.
hey often have much paler tones and colors than a mountain that is considerably
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closer to you. This occurs because blue light scatters into the air as it interacts with the
environment, frequently giving the appearance of light blue to distant objects. ● Light
and shade
Shades of light and dark are produced by the way light interacts with an item. Your eyes
can then determine where an object is in relation to the light and other adjacent things.
Because the light source will interact with the object differently and create a visual
contrast with other elements of your surroundings, this cue might also let you know
whether something is upside down.
onocular motion parallax
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When you move your head, the monocular motion parallax occurs, making items near to
you appear to move more quickly than those farther away. Try it out by focusing on a
distant object. Next, gently swivel your head to the left, then to the right, and then back
again. Closer things may appear to be moving in the opposite direction from the
direction your head is traveling. However, farther away things appear to move in the
same direction as your head.
inocular cues- seeing 3D with two eyesa.
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There are two main binocular cues that help us to judge distance.
●Disparity- Due to their average distance of 6 cm,each eye sees a slightly
different image. A single three-dimensional image is created by your brain from
the two images it receives. Greater depth perception can be found in animals
with wider eye separation, such as hammerhead sharks, provided that the scene
is visible to both eyes. When attempting to catch quickly moving prey, this can be
quite helpful.
●Convergence- Your eyes will turn slightly inward(cross-eyed) while you are
staring at a close-up item. The brain receives a cue about how far away the item
is thanks to the extra effort put in by the muscles on either side of each eye. Your
muscles have to work far harder to move your finger 20 cm in front of your eyes
than they do to move it 50 cm distant. These binocular cues work well for things
that are up to 6 meters distant. After this, there is not a significant enough
variation in pictures to be meaningful for the amount of eye separation.
Monocular cues vs. binocular cues
ogether, your two eyes combine to give you binocular cues. This refers to visual
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information you get from the overlapping of each eye's monocular cues. As Vrotsos
explained, "With binocular cues, images are interpreted as three-dimensional. These
cues are based on different images that our two separate eyes produce and put
together to form a 3-D image."
You can now detect differences in distance, he continued. In contrast to the distance
between me and the tree across my yard, the gap between me and the bike in front of
me is smaller.
Here are a few examples of binocular cue mechanisms:
)Fusion: In order to create a single image, yourbrain mixes two distinct eye images
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at this
point.
)Retinal inconsistency: Each eye can interpret alittle bit of information differently
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because of the distance between the retinas. You now have stereoscopic vision, which
you can utilize to understand size, shape, and depth.
The Muller-Lyer Illusion experiment
he distortion of the senses caused by an illusion can show how the mind typically
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organizes and processes sensory input. Even though illusions alter how people
perceive reality, most people tend to believe in them.
A demonstration of a perceptual error is the Muller-Lyer illusion. In actuality, an illusion
could be defined as a false or incorrect perception.
Muller investigated the potential impact of geometrical figures on illusion.
ne of the best illustrations of how arrowheads influence the strength and scope of
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illusion is the Muller-Lyer illusion. Based on the Gestalt theory of convergence and
divergence, it can be seen that the sidelines appear to direct the eye either inward or
outward, giving the viewer the wrong impression.
Through their research, psychologists have looked into what influences the degree of
illusion. They divided the variables into subjective and objective categories.
●Subjective elementsinclude satisfaction, mentality,satisfaction level, and age
●Objective elements, such as a perceptual field,educational background, and
cultural context.
Psychologists attempted to differentiate between illusion and hallucination.
According to the illusion, it happens when the object is present.
Methodology
Plan:
lternately perform descending and ascending series. The group modifies the variable
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stimulus so that it is exactly 16 cm long for each trial
Variables:
Independent Variable: The subject's direction of variation in the variable line's length.
Dependent Variable: The mistake the person made.
Controls for experiments:
aking sure the subject has understood the instructions is the responsibility of the
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experimenter.
The topic and the tool are always at the same distance.
In the descending series, the variable line should be held longer, and in the ascending
series, shorter.
o prevent habituation, the variable line's starting position should change from trial to
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trial. There should be two feet between the person and the device.
Materials required
) Muller Lyer illusion board
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2) pen/pencil
3) Writing pad
4) Muller lyer illusion manual
Subject details
ame: SJ
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Age: 18 years
About the test
three-stylized arrow optical illusion is the Müller-Lyer illusion. People prefer to place
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their marks closer to the "tail" end when asked to mark the figure halfway. Franz Carl
Müller-Lyer (1857-1916), a German sociologist, created the deception in 1889. The
Muller-Lyer illusion test demonstrates how our brains use depth clues to determine how
deep the two shafts are. We perceive the fins to slope away from the shaft of the line
when they are facing in that direction, much like a building's corner. The other moveable
arrowhead, which is pointed inward, must be moved by the subject at a length equal to
the fixed length. The subject can modify the arrow to reflect the observed or assumed
distance.
The experimenter's predetermined length is referred to as the stimulus, and the line that
eeds to be modified is referred to as the response. Neuroscientists use the Müller-Lyer
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illusion to better understand how the brain and visual system process and interpret
images. The illusion has also been successfully used by artists in their creations.
HYPOTHESIS:
The subject would experience a higher amount of illusion in ascending order
over descending order of presentation.
PROCEDURE:
Rapport formation
It was possible to communicate with the topic. the capacity to establish
relationships with others in a way that promotes. Simple questions were posed in
light of the subject's anxiety, and they were then assured of the secrecy
provision, until receiving further assurances. Both verbal and written consent was
obtained. They then received simple directions on how to take the test.
Behaviour Report
he participant found the directions were straightforward and simple to
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understand, and she finished the experiment on time. They were fairly composed
and calm during the trial. Because the experiment was so simple, they were not
worried.
Instructions
" The line between the two arrowheads is the standard line and its length reins constant.
The line between the two feather-heads is the variable line and its length can be varied
by manipulation. In this series, the variable line is held shorter than the standard line.
Slowly increase the length of the variable line till you feel it is equal to the standard"
Actual Procedure
he subject is made to sit comfortably. The apparatus is placed at a distance of two feet
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from the subject and the Muller Lyer Illusion Board is adjusted to the eye level of the
subject. The subject is shown the standard and variable lines.
scending series:Keep the variable line definitelyshorter than the standard line in the
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ascending series. Instruct the subject to slowly increase the length of the variable line,
till he/she feels it is equal to the standard line. When the subject stops moving, the
length of the variable line adjusted as equal to the standard line is noted down with the
elp of the scale provided behind the apparatus, by the experimenter. Ten trials are
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given.
escending series:The length of the variable lineis kept definitely longer than the
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standard line in the descending series. The subject is instructed to the variable line
adjusted as equal to the standard line is noted down with the help of the scale behind
the apparatus by the experimenter. Ten trials are given here also.
ote: The ascending and descending trials ate given alternately to eliminate the
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practice effect.
Precautions:
scending Series: "The line between the two arrowheads is the standard line and its
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length remains constant. The line between the two feather-heads is the variable line and
its length can be varied by manipulation. In this series, the variable line is held shorter
than the standard line. Slowly increase the length of the variable line till you feel it is
equal to the standard."
escending Series: "Now the variable line is held longer than the standard. Decrease
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the length of the variable line- stop when you feel that the length of the variable Fine is
equal to the length of the standard line."
RESULTS:
Introspective Report
I felt a bit uncomfortable in the beginning but after it was explained I maintained my
composure. It was nice that I got control over the experiment and I tried my very best to
make the line equal which was a overall a fun experiment. Especially when the
experimenter had to try their best not give away the results through their expressions.
Discussion
he hypothesis under testing states that the subject would experience a higher amount
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of illusion in ascending order over descending order of presentation.
he aim of the experiment is to demonstrate how illusion occurs in perception by using
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the Muller-Lyer illusion test. Based on the results obtained, the point of subjective
equality (PSE) of ascending trails and descending trails are 9.58 and 10.7 respectively.
Prior to conducting the experiment, the subject's verbal and written agreement was
obtained.After asking a few straightforward questions to defuse the situation, she was
given the secrecy agreement. The seat is designed to be cozy for the subject. The
Muller Lyer Illusion Board is set to the subject's eye level, and the device is placed two
feet away from the patient. The patient sees both the fixed and variable lines. "Slowly
increase or decrease the length of the variable line until you feel it is equal to the
standard line, which is 16 cm," was the subject's instruction.
he constant error under ascending trials is greater than that of the descending trials
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(6.42 > 5.3). These results are in sync with the hypothesis, thus confirming it and the
results being a match with what Gregory found- “misapplied size consistency scaling”.
It is calculated as the typical difference, either positive or negative, between observed
and actual values along a dimension of interest.
Movement error is an error that results from the eyes' and the spatial position's different
sensitivity levels. The aforementioned experiment's movement error was calculated to
be 0.56. If the movement error score is closer to 0, it indicates that the individual is less
susceptible to the Muller-Lyer illusion. The Muller-Lyer illusion is more likely to occur if
the individual has a score greater than 0. Consequently, the experiment's hypothesis is
accepted.
This illusion, according to psychologist Richard Gregory, results from an incorrect
application of size constancy scaling. Most of the time, size constancy enables us to
view objects in a steady manner by accounting for distance.
Our capacity to determine distance is significantly influenced by depth. Our perception
of the depths of the two shafts is dependent on depth signals, which is one explanation
for the Muller-Lyer illusion. We see the line as sloping away, much like a building's
corner, when the fins are pointed inward toward the shaft of the line. This depth cue
causes us to see that line as being closer and hence shorter.
It seems more like the corner of a room descending toward the spectator when the fins
are facing outward and away from the line. We infer that this line is closer and longer as
a result of this depth cue.
regory's "carpentered world" theory claims that persons from societies where right
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angles are prevalent, such as those seen in many Western homes, are more
susceptible to the Muller-Lyer illusion. These folks can detect illusions more easily.
Other individuals often have a better ability to notice these lines and assess their
lengths since their environments and way of life are more lifelike.
esearch comparing American children's reactions to the Müller-Lyer illusion with those
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of both rural and urban Zambian youngsters supports the hypothesis. Children in
America were influenced by the illusion, and urban as opposed to rural Zambian
c hildren were more at risk. It would appear that the perspective argument is supported
by the fact that Zambian youngsters in rural areas were exposed to less rectangular
constructions. As a result, the experiment's hypothesis—that the size of the illusion
changes depending on whether you're moving upward or downward—was verified.
study examined whether a goalkeeper can influence a penalty-taker's actions by
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assuming postures that mimic Müller-Lyer configurations. The results of the study
indicate that (i) goalkeeper posture affects the perception of the goalkeeper's height in a
manner consistent with the Müller-Lyer illusion; (ii) this influences penalty-taking
accuracy; and (iii) a posture that resembles a wing-out Müller-Lyer configuration results
in wider and lower throws. (van der Kamp, J., & Masters, R. S. W., 2008).
Conclusion
he values of PSE ascending and descending are 9.58 and 10.7 respectively whereas
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the value to the constant error of ascending and descending is 6.42 and 5.3 respectively
and the mean CE is 5.86. The movement error of the experiment is 0.10.56 which
indicates the presence of the muller-lyer illusion.
References
American Psychological Association. (2023).APA Dictionaryof Psychology. American
Psychological Association.https://dictionary.apa.org/
Howe, C. Q., & Purves, D. (2005). The Muller-Lyer illusion explained by the statistics of
image-source relationships.Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences,102(4),
1234–1239.https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0409314102
McCauley, R. N., & Henrich, J. (2006). Susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer Illusion,
Theory-Neutral Observation, and the Diachronic Penetrability of the Visual Input System.
Philosophical Psychology,19(1), 79–101.https://doi.org/10.1080/09515080500462347
