Effects of Similarity on Apparent Motion and Perceptual Grouping

Effects of similarity in colour, luminance, size, and shape on apparent motion and perceptual grouping were examined in part 1 in two parallel experiments on the same seven subjects. In both experiments, the effect of similarity was compared with that of proximity in competitive, bistable stimulus situations. A combination of a larger horizontal separation between the homogeneous stimulus elements and a smaller constant vertical separation between heterogeneous stimulus elements produced two kinds of apparent motion (or perceptual grouping) with equal probabilities. Such matched separations between homogeneous stimulus elements were obtained by the double staircase method in various stimulus conditions. In both experiments on apparent motion and perceptual grouping matched separation was found to increase as the difference between the heterogeneous stimulus elements increased. High correlations (0.71 to 0.94) of matched separations were found between apparent motion and perceptual grouping in four stimulus series: colour, luminance, size, and shape. Six of the seven subjects were also tested in part 2. Here, the effects of differences were found to work additively across different perceptual attributes in both phenomena, when multiple differences were combined in heterogeneous elements. The experimental results are discussed from the point of view that apparent motion is an example of perceptual constancy.

[1]  Max Wertheimer,et al.  Untersuchungen zur Lehre von der Gestalt , .

[2]  M. Wertheimer.  Untersuchungen zur Lehre von der Gestalt. II , 1923 .

[3]  J. Hochberg,et al.  A quantitative index of stimulus-similarity proximity vs. differences in brightness. , 1956, The American journal of psychology.

[4]  Tadasu Oyama,et al.  Perceptual Grouping as a Function of Proximity , 1961 .

[5]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[6]  D. Foster.  Visual apparent motion and the calculus of variations , 1978 .

[7]  T. Oyama,et al.  Perceptual grouping between successively presented stimuli and its relation to visual simultaneity and masking , 1978, Psychological research.

[8]  S. Ullman.  The Effect of Similarity between Line Segments on the Correspondence Strength in Apparent Motion , 1980, Perception.

[9]  V. Ramachandran,et al.  Perceptual Organization in Multistable Apparent Motion , 1985, Perception.

[10]  S. Anstis,et al.  Effects of Luminance and Contrast on Direction of Ambiguous Apparent Motion , 1985, Perception.

[11]  Marc Green,et al.  What determines correspondence strength in apparent motion? , 1986, Vision Research.

[12]  Peter Hillman,et al.  Shape similarity and distance disparity as apparent motion correspondence cues , 1988, Vision Research.

[13]  A Mack,et al.  Apparent motion: Evidence of the influence of shape, slant, and size on the correspondence process , 1989, Perception & psychophysics.

[14]  Patrick Cavanagh,et al.  Interattribute apparent motion , 1989, Vision Research.

[15]  P. Cavanagh,et al.  Motion: the long and short of it. , 1989, Spatial vision.

[16]  Marc Green,et al.  Color correspondence in apparent motion , 1989, Perception & psychophysics.

[17]  Shaul Hochstein,et al.  Size, flux and luminance effects in the apparent motion correspondence process , 1989, Vision Research.

[18]  Tatsuto Takeuchi,et al.  The effects of luminance on affinity of apparent motion , 1990, Vision Research.

[19]  K. Nakayama,et al.  Amodal Representation of Occluded Surfaces: Role of Invisible Stimuli in Apparent Motion Correspondence , 1990, Perception.

[20]  R. Shapley,et al.  Gender Differences in Apparent Motion Perception , 1991, Perception.

[21]  T. Caelli,et al.  A General Correspondence Approach to Apparent Motion , 1993, Perception.

[22]  Gunther W. Balz,et al.  Bistability and hysteresis in the organization of apparent motion patterns. , 1993, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[23]  G. Sperling,et al.  The dimensionality of texture-defined motion: a single channel theory , 1993, Vision Research.

[24]  T. Albright,et al.  What happens if it changes color when it moves?: Psychophysical experiments on the nature of chromatic input to motion detectors , 1993, Vision Research.

[25]  Zijiang J. He,et al.  Perceived surface shape not features determines correspondence strength in apparent motion , 1994, Vision Research.

[26]  T. Oyama,et al.  Long-Range Apparent Motion as a Result of Perceptual Organisation , 1994, Perception.

[27]  G. Sperling,et al.  Perception of apparent motion between Dissimilar Gratings: Spatiotemporal properties , 1994, Vision Research.

[28]  G. Sperling,et al.  The functional architecture of human visual motion perception , 1995, Vision Research.

[29]  R Sekuler,et al.  Motion Perception: A Modern View of Wertheimer's 1912 Monograph , 1996, Perception.

[30]  S. Hochstein,et al.  Perceptual Stability and the Selective Adaptation of Perceived and Unperceived Motion Directions , 1996, Vision Research.

[31]  G. Mather,et al.  Order-specific and Non-specific Motion Responses in the Human Visual System , 1997, Vision Research.

[32]  Apparent Motion as an Example of Perceptual Stability , 1997, Perception.

[33]  Shin'ya Nishida,et al.  Dual multiple-scale processing for motion in the human visual System , 1997, Vision Research.