Visual inertia of rotating 3-D objects

Five experiments were designed to determine whether a rotating, transparent 3-D cloud of dots (simulated sphere) could influence the perceived direction of rotation of a subsequent sphere. Experiment 1 established conditions under which the direction of rotation of a virtual sphere was perceived una...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perception & psychophysics 1998-02, Vol.60 (2), p.275-286
Main Authors: YANG JIANG, PANTLE, A. J, MARK, L. S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Contrast Sensitivity
Depth Perception
Discrimination Learning
Distance Perception
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Mental Recall
Motion Perception
Optical Illusions
Orientation
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Perception
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychophysics
Psychophysiology
Vision
Visual perception
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Summary:Five experiments were designed to determine whether a rotating, transparent 3-D cloud of dots (simulated sphere) could influence the perceived direction of rotation of a subsequent sphere. Experiment 1 established conditions under which the direction of rotation of a virtual sphere was perceived unambiguously. When a near-far luminance difference and perspective depth cues were present, observers consistently saw the sphere rotate in the intended direction. In Experiment 2, a near-far luminance difference was used to create an unambiguous rotation sequence that was followed by a directionally ambiguous rotation sequence that lacked both the near-far luminance cue and the perspective cue. Observers consistently saw the second sequence as rotating in the same direction as the first, indicating the presence of 3-D visual inertia. Experiment 3 showed that 3-D visual inertia was sufficiently powerful to bias the perceived direction of a rotation sequence made unambiguous by a near-far luminance cue. Experiment 5 showed that 3-D visual inertia could be obtained using an occlusion depth cue to create an unambiguous inertia-inducing sequence. Finally, Experiments 2, 4, and 5 all revealed a fast-decay phase of inertia that lasted for approximately 800 msec, followed by an asymptotic phase that lasted for periods as long as 1,600 msec. The implications of these findings are examined with respect to motion mechanisms of 3-D visual inertia.
ISSN:0031-5117
1532-5962
DOI:10.3758/BF03206036