The occlusion illusion is a perceptual phenomenon in which the presence or absence of an object can affect the perception of another object.

In the image, both half circles are the exact same size, but the one on the left appears larger.

This illusion illustrates how our brains use context and assumptions to interpret visual information, and can demonstrate how our perceptions can be influenced by factors other than the stimuli themselves.

Table of Contents

• How does the Occlusion Illusion work?
• Versions of the Occlusion Illusion
• Illusions like the Occlusion Illusion
• Discovery of the Occlusion Illusion
• References and Resources
• Sign up for emails from Mental Bomb

How does the Occlusion Illusion work?

The occlusion illusion works by exploiting the way our brains use context and assumptions to interpret visual information.

The brain uses previous experiences and knowledge to make predictions about what it will see, and then uses those predictions to fill in missing information.

In the case of the occlusion illusion, the brain uses the presence or absence of an occluding object to make predictions about the position or shape of the objects that are being occluded.

These predictions then influence the way the occluded objects are perceived, resulting in an illusion.

In short, the occlusion illusion works by manipulating the way our brains use context and assumptions to interpret visual information, leading to a perception that does not accurately reflect the reality of the stimuli.

Versions of the Occlusion Illusion

The following is an alternate version of the Occlusion Illusion.

Illusions like the Occlusion Illusion

The Occlusion illusion is a type of size-distance illusions, also known as size contrast illusions, which are visual illusions in which the size or distance of an object is perceived differently than it actually is. These illusions are caused by the way the brain processes visual information and the surrounding context.

Some related illusions include:

The Ebbinghaus illusion (also known as Titchener circles) is a perceptual illusion in which the perceived size of a central circle is affected by the size of the surrounding circles. The central circle appears smaller when surrounded by larger circles, and larger when surrounded by smaller circles.

The Delboeuf Illusion: This illusion involves the perception of circles of different sizes appearing to be the same size when they are surrounded by other circles of different sizes.

The Zöllner illusion: A another size-contrast illusion in which a group of diagonal lines appear to be distorted or bent due to the presence of intersecting lines. This illusion involves the perception of diagonal lines that appear to be bent or tilted, even though they are actually straight.

The Müller-Lyer illusion is a classic example of size-contrast illusion, in which two lines of equal length appear to be different due to the presence of arrowheads or fins at the end of the lines.

Moon illusion: This illusion involves the perception of the Moon appearing larger when it is near the horizon compared to when it is high in the sky.

Ponzo illusion: This illusion involves the perception of an object appearing larger or smaller depending on the size of the surrounding context.

The Café Wall Illusion is a visual illusion that is created by a grid of alternating light and dark horizontal and vertical lines. The lines appear to be bent or tilted, even though they are actually straight.

Münsterberg illusion: A special version of the Café Wall Illusion. This illusion involving the perception of the size of an object appearing to change when the surrounding context changes.

The Poggendorff illusion is a visual illusion in which the brain perceives a diagonal line as being interrupted by an object, even though the line is actually continuous.

These illusions show that the brain’s perception of size and distance can be influenced by the surrounding context, and that the visual information the brain receives is not always an accurate representation of reality.

Discovery of the Occlusion Illusion

The concept of occlusion illusion is a general phenomenon that has been observed and studied by many scientists and researchers over time. Therefore, it can be difficult to attribute the discovery of the occlusion illusion to a single individual. The phenomenon of occlusion illusion has been studied in various fields such as psychology, neuroscience, and vision science. The earliest research on occlusion illusion can be traced back to scientists like Hermann von Helmholtz and Charles Wheatstone in the 19th century, who studied the perception of depth and the role of occlusion in it.

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The Münsterberg illusion is a geometric optical illusion that is created by the alignment of parallel lines in a checkerboard pattern. It is very similar to the Cafe Wall Illusion.

Table of Contents

• How does the Münsterberg Illusion work?
• Versions of the Münsterberg Illusion
• Illusions like the Münsterberg Illusion
• Discovery of the Münsterberg Illusion
• References and Resources
• Sign up for emails from Mental Bomb

How does the Münsterberg Illusion work?

The Münsterberg Illusion works by creating the illusion of depth and perspective through the interaction of parallel lines and the edges of the squares in the checkerboard pattern.

The way the lines and edges interact with each other creates a conflict in the brain between the perception of the lines as straight and the perception of the rows as tilted. The brain resolves this conflict by interpreting the rows as slanted, which creates the illusion of depth and perspective. Additionally, the alternating light and dark rows also contribute to the illusion, as the brain perceives them as different depths of the wall.

The illusion is also affected by the viewer’s distance from the image.

Versions of the Münsterberg Illusion

The following are some alternate versions of the Münsterberg Illusion and the related Café Wall Illusion:

Illusions like the Münsterberg Illusion

The following are some illusions similar to the Münsterberg Illusion.

The Rotating Snakes is a peripheral drift illusion that consists of a grid of shapes, with some of them appearing to be rotating or undulating. The illusion is created by the interaction of the shapes with the neural processing of the visual system.

The Moiré pattern illusion: This illusion is created by superimposing two similar patterns on top of each other, such as a grid of lines or circles. The resulting pattern appears to be moving or changing.

The Scintillating Grid Illusion, in which a grid of black and white squares appears to pulsate or “breathe” when viewed from the periphery of the image.

The Zöllner illusion is a visual illusion in which parallel lines appear to be angled due to the presence of intersecting lines.

The illusion is often used to study the brain’s perception of shape and spatial relationships. It is considered one of the most powerful and striking examples of a geometrical-optical illusion. The perception of the illusion can be explained by the brain’s tendency to group lines together based on their similarity in direction and spacing, which can lead to an overestimation of the angle between the parallel lines.

The Müller-Lyer illusion: This illusion involves lines with arrowheads at the ends, which can make a line appear longer or shorter depending on the direction of the arrowheads.

The Poggendorff illusion is a visual illusion in which the brain perceives a diagonal line as being interrupted by an object, even though the line is actually continuous. The illusion is created by the misalignment of two parallel lines that are intersected by a third line at a certain angle.

The Orbison illusion is an illusion of movement that is created when stationary, parallel lines are placed on a background of radiating lines. The parallel lines appear to be moving in the direction of the radiating lines, even though they are actually stationary. This illusion is thought to be caused by the interaction between the parallel lines and the radiating lines, which creates an illusion of movement in the brain.

The Wundt illusion is an optical illusion produces an inversed effect compared to the Hering Illusion. The vertical lines are both straight, but they may look as if they are curved inwards.

Discovery of the Münsterberg Illusion

The Münsterberg was first described by Hugo Münsterberg

Hugo Münsterberg was a German-American psychologist, philosopher and educator. He was born in Danzig, Prussia (now Gdańsk, Poland) in 1863 and died in 1916 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was one of the first experimental psychologists in the United States and one of the first to apply psychology to various fields such as law, education, industry, and media.

Münsterberg received his Ph.D. in 1887 from the University of Leipzig under the supervision of Wilhelm Wundt, the father of experimental psychology. He then taught at several German universities before moving to the United States in 1892, where he became a professor of psychology at Harvard University.

Münsterberg is known for his work in applied psychology, particularly in the areas of industrial and organizational psychology. He was the first to use the term “industrial psychology” and was a pioneer in the application of psychological principles to the workplace. He also made significant contributions to the fields of educational psychology, media psychology, and forensic psychology. He was one of the first to study the psychology of eyewitness testimony, and his work in this area is still widely cited today.

Münsterberg also made a significant contribution in the field of perception, where he described the Münsterberg illusion, which is a visual illusion in which a small circle surrounded by larger circles appears larger than an identical-sized circle that is not surrounded by larger circles.

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The Ponzo illusion is a type of visual illusion in which a pair of parallel lines, or a horizontal bar, appear to be of different lengths based on the presence of a converging or diverging set of lines, often resembling the converging parallel lines of a road or railway track, placed above and below them.

The illusion is caused by the way the brain perceives depth and distance, as the converging lines can create the illusion of a receding space, making the upper line appear longer than the lower one, even though they are the same length.

Table of Contents

• How does the Ponzo Illusion work?
• Versions of the Ponzo Illusion
• Illusions like the Ponzo Illusion
• Discovery of the Ponzo Illusion
• References and Resources
• Sign up for emails from Mental Bomb

How does the Ponzo Illusion work?

The Ponzo illusion works by manipulating the way the brain perceives depth and distance.

When we look at an image with converging lines, such as the parallel lines in the Ponzo illusion, our brain interprets these lines as receding into the distance, creating the illusion of depth.

This creates the perception that the upper line is farther away, and therefore larger, than the lower line, even though they are the same length.

The brain uses several cues to perceive depth and distance, including perspective, which is the way that parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance, and relative size, which is the way that smaller objects appear to be farther away than larger objects.

The Ponzo illusion plays with these cues by using the converging lines to create the illusion of depth and distance, making the upper line appear larger than the lower one, even though they are the same length.

The Ponzo illusion is a good example of how context and prior experience can affect our perception.

Our brain relies on past experiences and knowledge to make sense of the visual information, and in this case, the context of the converging lines creates an expectation of depth and distance, which in turn affects the perception of the parallel lines.

Versions of the Ponzo Illusion

The following are some versions of the Ponzo Illusion

Illusions like the Ponzo Illusion

The Ponzo Illusion is a size constancy illusions in which the perceived size of an object is affected by its surroundings. Some examples of size constancy illusions include:

The Ebbinghaus illusion: This illusion is similar to the Delboeuf illusion but in this case the central circle appears larger when surrounded by smaller circles and smaller when surrounded by larger circles.

The Delboeuf illusion is a perceptual illusion in which the perceived size of a circle is affected by the size of the surrounding circles.

The Occlusion illusion is a visual illusion where an object that is partially obscured by another object appears to be farther away than it actually is. This illusion is caused by the brain’s interpretation of the relative depth of the objects based on their relative size and position. This phenomenon is based on the visual cues that the brain uses to perceive depth, such as relative size, position, and overlap.

The Müller-Lyer illusion is a classic example of size-contrast illusion, in which two lines of equal length appear to be different due to the presence of arrowheads or fins at the end of the lines.

The moon illusions involves the perception of the Moon appearing larger when it is near the horizon compared to when it is high in the sky.

The Kanizsa triangle is a visual illusion that was first described by the Italian psychologist Gaetano Kanizsa in 1955. The illusion consists of a white equilateral triangle that appears to be surrounded by three Pac-Man-like shapes, which are black and have white crescents facing inwards.

All these illusions demonstrate that the perceived size of an object can be influenced by the context in which it is presented, and that the brain uses the size of the surrounding objects as a reference point to judge the size of the central object.

Discovery of the Ponzo Illusion

This optical illusion was first described by the Italian psychologist Mario Ponzo in 1913.

The Ponzo illusion was first described by the Italian psychologist Mario Ponzo in 1913.

He published his findings in a paper titled “The Psychological Measurement of Visual Space” in the journal “Archivio di Psicologia, Neurologia e Psichiatria” (Archives of Psychology, Neurology, and Psychiatry).

In his paper, Ponzo presented the illusion and discussed the implications of his findings for the understanding of visual perception.

The illusion was later rediscovered by other researchers and has since become a well-known and widely studied phenomenon in the field of visual perception.

Mario Ponzo was an Italian psychologist and scientist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th century. He is best known for his work on visual perception and for describing the Ponzo illusion, which is named after him. He was born in 1882 in the town of Latiano in the region of Apulia, Italy. He graduated in psychology from the University of Rome in 1906, and later received his doctorate in psychology from the same university in 1909. He worked as a professor of psychology at the University of Rome and was a member of the Italian Society of Psychology.

Ponzo’s main area of research was visual perception, and he made several important contributions to the understanding of how the brain processes visual information. He was particularly interested in the role of context and expectation in visual perception and in how the brain interprets depth and distance. In addition to the Ponzo illusion, he also described other visual illusions and made important contributions to the understanding of visual space and the perception of movement.

Ponzo passed away in 1960, but his work continues to be widely cited in the field of visual perception and cognitive psychology.

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The moon illusions involves the perception of the Moon appearing larger when it is near the horizon compared to when it is high in the sky.

The illusion is an optical illusion and is caused by the way the human brain perceives size and distance.

Factors such as the presence of foreground objects, the size of the Moon in relation to other objects in the sky, and the relative distance of the Moon from the viewer can all contribute to the illusion.

Despite the fact that the Moon’s size does not actually change, it can appear to be much larger when it is near the horizon than when it is high in the sky.

Table of Contents

• How does the Moon Illusion work?
• Versions of the Moon Illusion
• Illusions like the Moon Illusion
• Discovery of the Moon Illusion
• References and Resources
• Sign up for emails from Mental Bomb

How does the Moon Illusion work?

The moon illusion works by the way our brain perceives size and distance.

When the Moon is near the horizon, it is often seen in the context of familiar, nearby objects such as buildings and trees.

Our brain uses these familiar objects as a frame of reference to judge the size of the Moon, which can make the Moon appear larger.

Additionally, our brain uses the relative size of objects to judge their distance.

Because the Moon is often seen alongside other objects in the sky such as stars, when it is high in the sky, our brain perceives it as being farther away, which can make it appear smaller.

The combination of these two factors, the presence of nearby objects and the relative size of the Moon in relation to other objects in the sky, can make the Moon appear larger when it is near the horizon than when it is high in the sky.

Versions of the Moon Illusion

The following are some versions of the Moon Illusion

Illusions like the Moon Illusion

The Moon Illusion is a size constancy illusions in which the perceived size of an object is affected by its surroundings. Some examples of size constancy illusions include:

The Ebbinghaus illusion: This illusion is similar to the Delboeuf illusion but in this case the central circle appears larger when surrounded by smaller circles and smaller when surrounded by larger circles.

The Delboeuf illusion is a perceptual illusion in which the perceived size of a circle is affected by the size of the surrounding circles.

The Occlusion illusion is a visual illusion where an object that is partially obscured by another object appears to be farther away than it actually is. This illusion is caused by the brain’s interpretation of the relative depth of the objects based on their relative size and position. This phenomenon is based on the visual cues that the brain uses to perceive depth, such as relative size, position, and overlap.

The Müller-Lyer illusion is a classic example of size-contrast illusion, in which two lines of equal length appear to be different due to the presence of arrowheads or fins at the end of the lines.

Ponzo illusion: This illusion involves the perception of an object appearing larger or smaller depending on the size of the surrounding context.

All these illusions demonstrate that the perceived size of an object can be influenced by the context in which it is presented, and that the brain uses the size of the surrounding objects as a reference point to judge the size of the central object.

Discovery of the Moon Illusion

The phenomenon of the moon illusion has been known for thousands of years and has been described by many ancient cultures.

The earliest known written reference to the moon illusion is found in ancient Chinese texts from around 400 BCE. The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras also wrote about the illusion in the 5th century BCE.

In the Western literature, the earliest known scientific explanation of the moon illusion was provided by the Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle in the 4th century BCE.

In the modern era, the moon illusion was studied by the philosophers, scientists and psychologists. One of the most notable contributors to the scientific understanding of the moon illusion was the German psychologist Hermann von Helmholtz in the 19th century.

He proposed that the illusion was caused by the way the brain perceives size and distance.

In 20th century many other scientists and psychologists, such as George Müller, have contributed to the understanding of the moon illusion and have proposed various theories to explain it.

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