Volume 6, Number 2, Article 4, Pages 132-144 doi:10.1167/6.2.4 http://journalofvision.org/6/2/4/ ISSN 1534-7362
Floating square illusion: Perceptual uncoupling of static and dynamic objects in motion
Thomas A. Carlson
Universiteit Utrecht, Helmholtz Research Institute, Psychonomics Division, The Netherlands
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Paul Schrater
Department of Psychology and Computer Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Sheng He
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Abstract

One of the primary goals of motion analysis is to accurately track the movement of objects in the environment. We report on a novel illusion in which two objects moving with identical physical velocities have different perceived velocities, creating an apparent offset in their relative spatial positions. The stimulus is a smaller object composed of a static noise pattern superimposed on a larger object composed of dynamic noise. When the two objects are moved, the smaller object appears to lag behind the larger object. In the present study, we report our observations on this novel effect. The results of our experiments indicate that the effect arises from differences in the perceived speed of static and dynamic patterns presented in the context of moving objects.

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History
Received October 10, 2005; published February 13, 2006
Citation
Carlson, T. A., Schrater, P., & He, S. (2006). Floating square illusion: Perceptual uncoupling of static and dynamic objects in motion. Journal of Vision, 6(2):4, 132-144, http://journalofvision.org/6/2/4/, doi:10.1167/6.2.4.
Keywords
motion perception, object motion, spatial localization, perceptual velocity, noise patterns
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