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Related Experiment Video

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Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

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Published on: April 16, 2014

Reversible-figure perception: Why is voluntary control limited?

Thomas C Toppino¹

¹Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 8210Villanova University, United States.

|July 14, 2022

Summary

Voluntary control over ambiguous figures like the Necker cube is limited. Stimulus-driven neural adaptation, not just attention, influences perception and limits our ability to maintain a chosen view.

Keywords:

ambiguous stimuli bistable perception intentionality reversible figures voluntary control

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Area of Science:

Cognitive psychology
Neuroscience
Visual perception

Background:

Ambiguous figures, such as the Necker cube, can be perceived in multiple ways.
Perceptual reversals are typically attributed to top-down attentional processes.
However, voluntary control over these reversals is known to be limited.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the extent of voluntary control over Necker cube perception.
To determine the influence of stimulus-driven processes on perceptual reversals.
To test the hybrid hypothesis of perception involving both top-down and bottom-up influences.

Main Methods:

Two experiments were conducted with observers viewing the Necker cube.
Observers attempted to voluntarily control their perception and avoid reversals.
The influence of cube size and completeness on reversal frequency was measured.

Main Results:

Observers demonstrated significant, yet limited, voluntary control over Necker cube perception.
Cube size and completeness, linked to neural adaptation, affected reversal frequency irrespective of observer intention.
These stimulus-driven factors impacted perception despite attempts at top-down control.

Conclusions:

Both top-down attention and bottom-up stimulus-driven processes contribute to Necker cube perception.
Bottom-up processes, particularly neural adaptation, are responsible for the limitations observed in voluntary perceptual control.
This supports a hybrid model where stimulus characteristics inherently constrain conscious control.