Perception of Depth in Rotating Objects: 4. Fluctuating Stereokinetic Perceptual Variants

Abstract

There are a variety of stereokinetic percepts that fluctuate suddenly and unpredictably. On first viewing their sequence is predictable (Phase 1), but later it becomes unpredictable (Phase 2). A given percept results from the interplay of three independent visual systems: (1) the near-far mechanism (perspective reversals), (2) the one object-multiple object mechanism (degree of perceptual organization), and (3) the anchor point mechanism (apparent location of the axis of rotation). It was hypothesized that these fluctuating phenomena result from the operation of a basic system for repetitively sampling and pre-processing information on orientation, perceptual organization, and location of the axis of rotation and that a steady-state apparent-depth mechanism stabilizes the systems.