Illusory figures: A (mostly) atheoretical review.

Parks, Theodore E.

doi:10.1037/0033-2909.95.2.282

Cited by 44 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Without going into too much detail (see, e.g., Halpern, 1981, or Parks, 1984, for recent reviews), we note that there is evidence against some physiologically based theories. For example, it has been shown (Prazdny, 1983) that illusory contours and stratification can be perceived in displays constructed from inducing elements with opposite contrast (Figure 1a).…”

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confidence: 78%

On the nature of inducing forms generating perceptions of illusory contours

Prazdny

1985

Perception & Psychophysics

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confidence: 78%

On the nature of inducing forms generating perceptions of illusory contours

Prazdny

1985

Perception & Psychophysics

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“…Although Ehrenstein (1941) demonstrated stimuli with salient illusory contours, it is remarkable that he failed to note their existence in the text of his article explicitly, commenting instead only on illusory brightening effects. Kanizsa's (1955) Although there have been a number ofexcellent illusory contour review papers Meyer & Petry, 1987;Parks, 1984), research advances in the psychophysical, neurophysiological, and modeling domains have been more than sufficient to mandate a new summary ofthe literature. Inthis review, I will not only present more recent data, but also employ an approach to the summaries that is markedly different from those previously taken.…”

Section: Enkidu Research Rochester New Yorkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These include moving phantoms (Maguire & Brown, 1987;Mulvanny, Macarthur, & Sekuler, 1982;Tynan & Sekuler, 1978;Weisstein, Maguire, & Berbaum, 1977), stereokinetic contours Vallortigara, 1987;Vallortigara, Bressan, & Zanforlin, 1986;Zanforlin & Vallortigara, 1990), and rotationinduced contours (Klymenko & Weisstein, 1981, 1984Klymenko, Weisstein, & Ralston, 1987). All these stimuli are similar in that the potential for completion exists when the inducers are static-they have aspects ofedge or line-end stimuli-but not until the inducers move does the illusory contour become salient.…”

Section: Other Types Of Illusory Contoursmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We can now safely say that all these narrow views are incorrect. There are illusory contours without depth or brightness (Ware & Kennedy, 1977, 1978a, illusory figures without clarity or depth (as in Figure 5) (Kennedy, 1976(Kennedy, , 1978b(Kennedy, , 1979(Kennedy, , 1981Meyer & Dougherty, 1987;Parks, 1981Parks, , 1984Richardson, 1979), illusory contours with clarity and depth but no brightness (Coren, 1972;Prazdny, 1983;Shapley & Gordon, 1987), and illusory contours with clarity and brightness but no depth (Ware & Kennedy, 1978a). In short, every combination but those involving depth without clarity has been observed.…”

Section: Characteristics Of Illusory Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Illusory contours: Toward a neurally based perceptual theory

Lesher

1995

Psychon Bull Rev

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Although illusory contours were first described nearly a century ago, researchers have only recently begun to approach a consensus on the processes underlying their formation. Neurophysiological and psychophysical evidence indicate that neural mechanisms of the early visual cortex subserve illusory contour generation, although cognitive factors play important roles in determining the fmal percept. I summarize experiments concerning the determinants of illusory contour strength and form, concentrating on findings particularly relevant to modeling. After establishing arguments for the early generation of illusory contours, I provide an overview of formation theories, culminating with descriptions of neural models. The constraints that experimental data place on models are outlined, and neural models are evaluated with respect to these constraints. Throughout the review,I indicate where further experimental and modeling research are critical.Schumann introduced the first illusory contour, depicted in Figure 1a, in 1900, noting that a central "white rectangle with sharply defined contours appears, which objectively are not there." Schumann had discovered and noted two salient features of illusory figures: sharp edges in regions of homogeneous luminance, and a brightening within the figure. Perhaps because this stimulus failed to yield particularly convincing illusory contours, it was not until more than 50 years later that illusory contours became a topic for activeresearch. Although Ehrenstein (1941) demonstrated stimuli with salient illusory contours, it is remarkable that he failed to note their existence in the text of his article explicitly, commenting instead only on illusory brightening effects. Kanizsa's (1955) stunning figures, examples of which are depicted in Figures Iband 1c, produced extremely sharp, salient contours along with obvious brightening, initiating a wave of research.Although there have been a number ofexcellent illusory contour review papers Meyer & Petry, 1987;Parks, 1984), research advances in the psychophysical, neurophysiological, and modeling domains have been more than sufficient to mandate a new summary ofthe literature. Inthis review, I will not only present more recent data, but also employ an approach to the summaries that is markedly different from those previously taken. At the time of the earlier reviews, determination of the locus of formation of illusory contours was the central issue in illusory contour research, a fact reflected in the structure of the review papers. Experimental results were presented primarily in the historical context of supporting or refut-I would like to thank Ennio Mmgolla of Boston University for generously providing many helpful comments and suggestions during the development ofthis review.

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“…Subjective contours take many forms. They are discussed in a recent review of the large literature by Parks (1984). Our investigation deals with the kind of patterns that yield subjective contours most reliably when viewed by naive subjects, that is, by those who have not been specifically aware of subjective contours before.…”

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confidence: 99%