Illusion of extent evoked by closed two-dimensional shapes

In the present study, we have tested the applicability of the computational model of centroid extraction to account for the data collected in experiments with stimuli comprising of closed two-dimensional shapes. The outlined or uniformly filled pie-shaped circular sectors (contextual distractors) were arranged according to the Brentano pattern, and three different stimulus parameters (either the radius or the central angle or the tilt angle of the sectors) were used as independent variables in different series of experiments. It was demonstrated that the model calculations adequately predict the variations of illusion magnitude shown by all the subjects for all independent variables and that there is no significant difference between the data obtained for stimuli with the outlined and uniformly filled distractors. A good correspondence between the computational and experimental data provides convincing evidence in support of the "centroid" explanation of illusions of extent of the Müller-Lyer type.