Abstract
Variants of the Delboeuf (concentric circle) display and the Ebbinghaus display (four large nonconcentric inducing circles) were produced by systematically eliminating fractions of the circumferences of the outer inducing circles. For the Ebbinghaus display, various amounts of the inner arcs and/or outer arcs were preserved; a series of dots was sometimes substituted for missing contours. Results are described by the following statements: Contours attract. Larger nonconcentric circles induce size contrast. Rotating an Ebbinghaus variant by 45° alters size misjudgments. The larger the horizontal (or vertical) extent of the inducing configuration, the smaller the judged size of the test (center) circle. A figurai aftereffect of the inducing configuration acts to reduce the perceptual size of the comparison circle when eye movements are permitted between test and comparison circles.
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Experiment 2 was based on research by the second author for his senior honors thesis in the Psychology Department, University of Michigan. This investigation was supported in pan by a United States Public Health Service Research Scientist Development Award (K3-MH-35,253) to the first author, and in part by Grant MH23767 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
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Weintraub, D.J., Schneck, M.K. Fragments of Delboeuf and Ebbinghaus illusions: Contour/context explorations of misjudged circle size. Perception & Psychophysics 40, 147–158 (1986). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203010
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203010