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Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
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Voluntary action alters the perception of visual illusions
Matti Vuorre1, Janet Metcalfe2
1Psychology Department, Columbia University, 365 Schermerhorn, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10027, USA. mv2521@columbia.edu.
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|April 29, 2017
Summary
Voluntary action compresses subjective time, altering visual perception. This study shows that initiating visual displays yourself makes motion illusions, usually seen at short intervals, persist longer, supporting the time compression hypothesis.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Visual Perception
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Intentional binding links voluntary actions and their effects closer in time.
- This effect may stem from subjective time compression.
- Time-dependent visual illusions could be influenced by voluntary action.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if voluntary action alters time-dependent visual illusions.
- To test the hypothesis that intentional binding reflects subjective time compression.
- To determine if cognitive impenetrability of visual illusions is affected by voluntary initiation.
Main Methods:
- Participants viewed visual displays (apparent motion, Ternus display) at varying interstimulus intervals (ISIs).
- Illusions were observed during both passive viewing and voluntary initiation of displays.
- A control experiment assessed effects of predictability and attention.
Main Results:
- Voluntary initiation of displays led to the persistence of short-ISI motion illusions at longer ISIs compared to passive viewing.
- This effect was independent of display predictability or increased attention.
- Voluntary action demonstrably altered motion illusions.
Conclusions:
- Voluntary action appears to compress subjective time, influencing visual perception.
- The findings support the hypothesis that intentional binding is related to subjective time compression.
- Cognitively impenetrable visual illusions can be modulated by the act of voluntary initiation.
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