Vertical-horizontal illusion present for sighted but not early blind humans using auditory substitution of vision

This experiment was undertaken to investigate the effect of sensory modality (vision vs. audition) and of visual status (early blind vs. sighted) on susceptibility to the vertical-horizontal illusion. Early blind volunteers and blindfolded sighted subjects explored variants of the vertical-horizonta...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perception & psychophysics 2006-05, Vol.68 (4), p.535-542
Main Authors: RENIER, Laurent, BRUYER, Raymond, DE VOLDER, Anne G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Audition
Auditory Perception
Biological and medical sciences
Blindness
Choice Behavior
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Handicap
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Optical Illusions
Perception
Psychology and medicine
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Vision
Visual Perception
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Summary:This experiment was undertaken to investigate the effect of sensory modality (vision vs. audition) and of visual status (early blind vs. sighted) on susceptibility to the vertical-horizontal illusion. Early blind volunteers and blindfolded sighted subjects explored variants of the vertical-horizontal illusion using a device that substituted audition for vision, whereas sighted subjects from an independent group inspected the same stimuli visually. Sensitivity to the vertical-horizontal illusion, including an illusion of moderate strength when using the sensory substitution device, was observed only in the two sighted groups. The existence of an illusion effect when using such a device supports the idea of a visual perception provided by sensory substitution, whereas the attenuation of the vertical-horizontal illusion strength is consistent with the visual field shape theory (Künnapas, 1955a). The absence of the illusion effect in early blind subjects suggests that the sensory experience influences the nature of perception and that the visual experience plays a crucial role in the vertical-horizontal illusion, in accordance with the size-constancy scaling theory (Gregory, 1963).
ISSN:0031-5117
1532-5962
DOI:10.3758/BF03208756