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The Poggendorff illusion: Amputations, rotations, and other perturbations

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Abstract

Studies of the Poggendorff illusion (a transversal interrupted by parallel lines) showed that illusory effects increased linearly with increasing separation between the parallels, increased in inverse proportion to the tangent of the angle of intersection between transversal and parallels, decreased whenever line segments (other than a transversal segment) were omitted, decreasing to zero when the segment of a parallel forming the obtuse angle with the transversal was omitted, and varied systematically with the tilt of the whole display, approaching zero when the transversal was oriented in a horizontal or vertical position. Hypothesis: The Poggendorff illusion involves at least three kinds of effects on the perceived orientation of a segment: distortion by other segments (especially a segment intersecting at an obtuse angle), stability of vertical and Horizontal orientations, and assimilation towards vertical or horizontal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 7 Perry Building, 330 Packard, 48104, Ann Arbor, Michigan

    Daniel J. Weintraub & David H. Krantz

Authors
  1. Daniel J. Weintraub
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  2. David H. Krantz
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Additional information

We thank Anita Caplan, Lillian Tong, and Jack Loomis for serving as Es and offering many insights, suggestions, and criticisms. The investigators were supported in part by a United States Public Health Service Research Scientist Development Award (K2-MH-35.253) to the first author from the National Institute of Mental Health. Research funds were provided by National Science Foundation Grants GB3110, GB4947, GB8181, and the University of Michigan’s Biomedical Sciences Institutional Support Grant PHS FR 07050-03.

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Weintraub, D.J., Krantz, D.H. The Poggendorff illusion: Amputations, rotations, and other perturbations. Perception & Psychophysics 10, 257–264 (1971). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03212818

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03212818

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