Orientation contrast effects in the rod-and-frame test

Previous research indicates that a tilted visual display is capable of inducing eye torsion and an illusion of self-tilt in objectively upright observers. These effects may contribute to performance errors on the rod-and-frame test by rotating the perceived axes of visual space toward the tilted frame. The kinesthetic-matching method was used in the present study to see whether an effect of the visual orientation contrast between red and frame sides might also contribute to rod-and-frame test performance. Observers aligned invisible hand-held rods with the visual rod at various tilts under a control condition when the frame was absent, and under experimental conditions with the frame upright or set at 45°. The frame induced matching errors in the direction away from the frame sides which were most nearly parallel to the rod. Since no rotation of apparent visual axes should occur under these conditions, the data suggest that an orientation contrast effect is involved in the rod-and-frame test.

[2]  D. Goodenough,et al.  Eye torsion in response to a tilted visual stimulus , 1979, Vision Research.

[3]  Eric Sigman,et al.  Instructions, Illusory Self-Tilt and the Rod-and-Frame Test , 1979 .

[4]  L. Immergluck.  Resistance to an optical illusion, figurai after-effects, and field dependence , 1966 .

[5]  S. Appelle.  Perception and discrimination as a function of stimulus orientation: the "oblique effect" in man and animals. , 1972, Psychological bulletin.

[6]  David Shinar,et al.  Additivity of Cues in Perception of Verticality , 1977 .

[7]  H. A. Witkin,et al.  Studies in space orientation; further experiments on perception of the upright with displaced visual fields. , 1948, Journal of experimental psychology.

[8]  Sheldon M. Ebenholtz,et al.  The rod and frame effect and induced head tilt as a function of observation distance , 1977 .

[9]  S. A. Rudin.  Figure-Ground Differentiation under Different Perceptual Sets , 1968, Perceptual and motor skills.

[10]  I. Howard,et al.  Visually-induced eye torsion and tilt adaptation. , 1964, Vision research.

[11]  Sheldon M. Ebenholtz,et al.  Determinants of the rod and frame effect: The role of retinal size , 1977 .

[12]  P. Wenderoth.  The Distinction between the Rod-and-Frame Illusion and the Rod-and-Frame Test , 1974, Perception.

[13]  Walter C. Gogel,et al.  Depth adjacency and the rod-and-frame illusion , 1975 .

[14]  P K Oltman,et al.  A Portable Rod-and-Frame Apparatus , 1968, Perceptual and motor skills.

[15]  W. B. Templeton.  Visual tilt normalization: The method of kinesthetic matching , 1972 .