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Biomedical subjects

H Wallach

Publications and source records attributed to H Wallach.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Identity imposition and its role in a stereokinetic effect.

Lines of constant curvature, a circle or a straight line, have no distinguishable parts. Yet they are perceived as if they did. When they move and intersect, they are perceived to slide across each other as if one of them had parts that can be seen to move in relation to the other line. With no such parts present in stimulation, they are products of perception. It was found that a third line of constant curvature, the helix, is also seen to slide when two helixes intersect and are in motion. Another manifestation of perceived identical parts is that rotating circles and similar shapes are perceived not to rotate even when cues for rotation are present. Furthermore, changes between merely perceived identical parts can result in apparent depth. Evidence is presented that such depth, known as the stereokinetic effect, results from kinetic depth-effects that are based on perceived identical parts instead of on actually identical parts, and that depth is seen when the intervals between such perceived parts change length and orientation simultaneously.

Attention

Shape constancy and polar perspective.

The distortion of polar perspective depends on the depth of the tridimensional shape and on the observation distance. In four experiments using 54 undergraduates as subjects, we found that a compensation process which takes depth and observation distance into account corrects for such distortions. Compensation was demonstrated in experiments in which deceptive information on depth and on observation distance was provided. The result was distortions of the perceived shapes that would be expected if compensation were based on the deceptive information.

Cues

Vector analysis and process combination in motion perception.

Experiments are reported supporting an altered explanation of the vector analysis that occurs in certain motion displays discovered by Johansson (1950). What seemed the result of a perceptual vector analysis is ascribed to the outcome of two different, independent stimulus conditions to which such displays can give rise because of external vector analysis. The different stimulus conditions are configurational change on the one hand and one of the subject-relative stimulus conditions on the other. In two of Johansson's displays, conditions for configurational change were altered by adding stationary reference points in the surround of the displays. Veridical perception of the displays resulted in a majority of instances. We also found that the different motions that result from configurational change and from subject-relative stimulation may combine to form unitary perceived motions and that this happens quite frequently under some conditions.

Humans

A limitation of position constancy.

When the eyes track a moving object, the image of a stationary target shifts on the retina colinearly with the eye movement. A compensation process called position constancy prevents this image shift from causing perceived target motion commensurate with the image shift. The target either appears stationary or seems to move in the direction opposite to the eye movement, but much less than the image shift would warrant. Our work is concerned with the question of whether position constancy operates when the image shift and the eye movement are not colinear. That can occur when, during the eye movement, the target undergoes a motion of its own. Evidence is reported that position constancy fails to operate when the direction of the target motion forms an angle with the direction of the eye movement.

Adult

Configurational differences in stereovision.

Retinal disparities which produce perceived depth in stereoscopic vision result from configurational differences in the retinal images in the two eyes of objective three-dimensional arrangements. Experiments reported earlier demonstrated special effectiveness of differences in the alignment in the vertical dimensions of the images of points that are at different depth. Here a stereoscopic experiment is reported where alignment differences were increased without altering disparity. An increase in perceived depth resulted and was measured by estimation and by matching. The reason for the special effectiveness of binocular alignment differences is discussed.

Depth Perception