Skip to main content
Log in

The reversed Müller-Lyer illusion in conventional and in wing-amputated Müller-Lyer figures

  • Published:
Psychological Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

When the wings of the conventional or four-wing Müller-Lyer figures are displaced away from the shaft, the apparent elongation of the wings-out figure decreases and the apparent contraction of the wings-in figure changes to apparent elongation. Worrall and Firth (1974) reported a different pattern of illusion change for two-wing Müller-Lyer figures containing wings at only one end of the shaft. Whereas moving the wings away from the shaft decreased the magnitude of the wings-in illusion, it changed the wings-out illusion from apparent elongation to apparent contraction. The effect of wing displacement upon the Müller-Lyer illusion was measured in three experiments. Illusion magnitude was assessed by obtaining judgments of either the length (Experiment 1) or the apparent midpoint (Experiments 2 and 3) of the shaft of four-wing (Experiment 1), two-wing (Experiments 1–3), and one-wing (Experiments 1 and 2) Müller-Lyer figures. Both measures of the illusion showed that displacement of the wings away from the shaft had similar effects on the four and two-wing Müller-Lyer figures. The results are discussed in the context of assimilation theories of the Müller-Lyer illusion, and a possible reason for the apparent inconsistency between Worrall and Firth's conclusions and the present findings is outlined.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Brigell, M., Uhlarik, J., & Goldhorn, P. (1977). Contextual influences on judgments of linear extent. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 3, 105–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, R. H., & Dickinson, R. G. (1976). Apparent length of the arms of acute and obtuse angles, and the components of the Müller-Lyer illusion. Australian Journal of Psychology, 28, 137–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greist-Bousquet, S., & Schiffman, H. R. (1981). The role of structural components in the Müller-Lyer illusion, Perception & Psychophysics, 30, 505–511.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fellows, B. J. (1967). Reversal of the Müller-Lyer illusion with changes in the length of the inter-fins line. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 19, 208–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyama, T. (1960). Japanese studies on the so-called geometrical optical illusions. Psychologia, 3, 7–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Predebon, J. (1992). Framing effects and the reversed Müller-Lyer illusion. Perception & Psychophysics, 52, 307–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pressey, A. W. (1967). A theory of the Müller-Lyer illusion. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 25, 569–572.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pressey, A. W., & Bross, M. (1973). Assimilation theory and the reversed Müller-Lyer illusion, Perception, 2, 211–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pressey, A. W., Di Lollo, V., & Tait, R. W. (1977). Effects of gap size between the shaft and fins of angle of fins on the Müller-Lyer illusion. Perception, 6, 435–439.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pressey, A. W., & Pressey, C. A. (1992). Attentive fields are related to focal and contextual features: A study of Müller-Lyer distortions. Perception & Psychophysics, 51, 423–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sekuler, R., & Erlebacher, A. (1971). The two illusions of Müller-Lyer: Confusion theory reexamined. American Journal of Psychology, 84, 477–486.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren, R. M., & Bashford, J. A. (1977). Müller-Lyer illusions: Their origin in processes facilitating object recognition. Perception, 6, 615–626.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worrall, N., & Firth, D. (1974). The components of the standard and reverse Müller-Lyer illusions. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 26, 342–354.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Predebon, J. The reversed Müller-Lyer illusion in conventional and in wing-amputated Müller-Lyer figures. Psychol. Res 56, 217–223 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00419652

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00419652

Keywords

Navigation