Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
Published on: June 3, 2013
The global figural characteristics in the Zöllner illusion
1Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Italy.
Abstract:
The Zöllner illusion has been accounted for in terms of local interactions between the vertical lines and the crossing segments. Recently, however, some evidence supporting the importance of global figural characteristics--ie of figural elements that are not directly interacting with the test lines--in the occurrence of orientation illusions has been reported. Three experiments have been conducted with parts of the Zöllner figure to test whether this illusion is affected by the global figural characteristics. The results indicate that, similarly to what has been observed for other orientation illusions, the Zöllner illusion depends on both local and global characteristics of the stimulus configuration. In addition, results suggest a similar weight for both these figural characteristics in determining the occurrence of the illusory effect. Finally, relations among different orientation illusions are also discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Nonconscious Mimicry
Gauss's Law: Planar Symmetry
Gestalt Psychology
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Perceptual Constancy
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...

