Difference between revisions of "Wundt illusion" - New World Encyclopedia

Revision as of 13:35, 31 October 2007

The Wundt illusion is an optical illusion where straight lines appear to be curved. The Hering illusion produces a similar, but inverted effect, and both the Wundt and Hering illusions are similar in nature to the Orbison illusion.

Discovery

The Wundt illusion is named for German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920), who discovered the illusion in the 19th century. Wundt is often referred to as the "father of experimental psychology", and is responsible for discovering a number of perceptual illusions. Wundt also discovered one of the most simple line illusions, called the "horizontal-vertical illusion", where a vertical line appears much longer than a horizontal line.

Wundt illusion

Description

When looking at the Wundt illusion, one sees a set of vertical red lines over a figure of blue lines that radiate out from two points to the left and right of the set of red lines, meeting in the middle and creating a diamond-like shape. When observing the two red lines, they appear to bow inwards. In reality, they are perfectly straight and parallel.

Explanation

The distorted appearance of the two parallel red lines is created by the angled lines in the background. The exact mechanism by which we perceive the illusion is not fully understood by scientists, but it may have to do with the way the brain and visual system perceive the angles that surround the two red lines.

Application

Like other visual and perceptual illusions, the Wundt illusion helps scientists to study the way images are perceived and interpreted by the visual system.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Pohl, Rudiger. Cognitive Illusions: A Handbook on Fallacies and Biases in Thinking, Judgment and Memory January 2005. Psychology Press. ISBN 1841693510
Rieber, Robert W. Wilhelm Wundt in History: The Making of a Scientific Psychology November 2001. Springer. ISBN 030646599X
Wade, N.J. Perception and Illusion: Historical Perspectives December 2004. Springer. ISBN 0387227229

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 [[Category:Psychology]]
+The '''Wundt illusion''' is an [[optical illusion]] where straight lines appear to be curved. The [[Hering illusion]] produces a similar, but inverted effect, and both the Wundt and Hering illusions are similar in nature to the [[Orbison illusion]].
+==Discovery==
+The Wundt illusion is named for German psychologist [[Wilhelm Wundt]] (1832-1920), who discovered the illusion in the 19th century. Wundt is often referred to as the "father of experimental psychology", and is responsible for discovering a number of perceptual illusions. Wundt also discovered one of the most simple line illusions, called the "horizontal-vertical illusion", where a vertical line appears much longer than a horizontal line.
 [[Image:Wundt illusion.svg|thumb|right|160px|'''Wundt illusion''']]
+==Description==
+When looking at the Wundt illusion, one sees a set of vertical red lines over a figure of blue lines that radiate out from two points to the left and right of the set of red lines, meeting in the middle and creating a diamond-like shape. When observing the two red lines, they appear to bow inwards. In reality, they are perfectly straight and parallel.
+==Explanation==
+The distorted appearance of the two parallel red lines is created by the angled lines in the background. The exact mechanism by which we perceive the illusion is not fully understood by scientists, but it may have to do with the way the brain and visual system perceive the angles that surround the two red lines.
+==Application==
+Like other visual and perceptual illusions, the Wundt illusion helps scientists to study the way images are perceived and interpreted by the visual system.
+==References==
+*Pohl, Rudiger. ''Cognitive Illusions: A Handbook on Fallacies and Biases in Thinking, Judgment and Memory'' January 2005. Psychology Press. ISBN 1841693510
+*Rieber, Robert W. ''Wilhelm Wundt in History: The Making of a Scientific Psychology'' November 2001. Springer. ISBN 030646599X
+*Wade, N.J. ''Perception and Illusion: Historical Perspectives'' December 2004. Springer. ISBN 0387227229
-The '''Wundt illusion''' is an [[optical illusion]] that was first described by the German psychologist [[Wilhelm Wundt]] in the 19th century. The two red vertical lines are both straight, but they look as if they are bowed inwards. The distortion is induced by the crooked lines on the background, as in [[Orbison illusion|Orbison's illusion]]. [[Hering illusion]] produces a similar, but inverted effect.
-Another variant of the Wundt illusion is the ''Horizontal-Vertical Illusion'', introduced by Wundt on 1858. The two intersecting lines are equal in length although the vertical line appears to be much longer. The horizontal line needs to be extended up to 30% to match the perceptual length of the vertical line. This is not confined to simple line drawings, as this can also be seen in buildings, parking meters, as well as other things viewed in a natural setting.
 {{Credits|Wundt_illusion|115471419|}}