Predicting the perception of three-dimensional objects from the geometrical information in drawings

Three experiments investigated the hypothesis that perceived dimensionality of drawings of an object increases with the complexity of the drawings. Experiment 1 examined drawings of transparent objects. The results strongly supported this hypothesis: Judgments of each object tested increased approximately as step functions of complexity. In addition, the complexity at which the step occurred increased with the complexity of the object. Similar results were obtained in Experiment 2, which investigated drawings of solid objects. These experiments also provided support for a measure of complexity that includes a measure of how much is in the drawing as well as how organized the drawing is. In Experiment 2, there were some judgments that did not fit the hypothesis. Experiment 3 investigated the possibility that the deviant judgments were produced by alternate three-dimensional interpretations of the drawings. Results indicated that 12% of the drawings had multiple three-dimensional interpretations, but this did not explain the deviant judgments. Several methods of expanding the complexity hypothesis to handle the multiple interpretations and the deviant judgments are discussed.