Journal
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Volume 15, Issue 7, Pages 454-459Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00701.x
Keywords
-
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Mechanisms of contour completion are critical for computing visual surface structure in the face of occlusion. Theories of visual completion posit that mechanisms of contour interpolation operate independently of whether the completion is modal or amodal-thereby generating identical shapes in the two cases. This identity hypothesis was tested in two experiments using a configuration of two overlapping objects and a modified Kanizsa configuration. Participants adjusted the shape of a comparison display in order to match the shape of perceived interpolated contours in a standard completion display. Results revealed large and systematic shape differences between modal and amodal contours in both configurations. Participants perceived amodal (i.e., partly occluded) contours to be systematically more angular-that is, closer to a corner-than corresponding modal (i.e., illusory) contours. The results falsify the identity hypothesis in its current form: Corresponding modal and amodal contours can have different shapes, and, therefore, mechanisms of contour interpolation cannot be independent of completion type.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available