Optical Illusions

A detailed Summary of Optical Illusions

The question "What is an illusion?" is one that, at first glance, is strikingly simple to answer. Yet, it has eluded many a psychologist until the latter half of the twentieth century, when the workings of our psyche and the processes that underlie it became apparent to those that devoted their lives to the cause of its understanding. Upon further inspection, one realizes that optical illusions are not simply just that - they consist of the misinterpretations of sensory stimuli that can be attributed to many reasons, which vary from depth cues to the context within which an image is viewed. Thus, considering the complexity and depth of such a subject matter, it becomes evident and understandable that our quest to understand perceptual illusions has been a long and arduous journey.

In order to define the concept of an illusion, an idea central to our discussion, we must refer to the psychological processes of sensation and perception. Let us begin by examining the processes that concern sensation. Our bodies, and for that matter most living things, have special cells called sensory receptors. They can detect light, sound, temperature, pressure, odour, taste, pain, pressure, and balance, among other things. Most of these receptors

the background. It is usually darker and usually has a more precisely defined shape. When the figure and its background are more evenly balanced it is possible to look at the figure by itself, and then see the background as a different but recognizable image. Again, one cannot hold one interpretation without the other intruding.

Optical illusions, as dissimilar as they range, can be categorized into six groups - ambiguities, figure-ground illusions, impossible objects, distorted illusions, typographical illusions (which are also known as ambigrams), stereoscopic images and after effects. As a note to the reader, after effects are further divided into two classes, colour after effects and motion after effects, both of which shall be examined as we consider our perceptual restrictions and its various manifestations.

kinds of receptors, those that were not stimulated dominate in the visual part of your brain and you see the opposite colour. Thus, a colour after effect is generated.

According to Hering's opponent-process theory, certain light receptors in the retina are more sensitive to certain light wavelengths than others. When you fixate your eyes on a particular colour these receptors become fatigued. When you shift your gaze to a neutral source of light they tend to under-respond while those receptors that were not sensitized by the prior stimulus respond appropriately. Without the balance of both

are on or near the surface of the body such as our eyes, ears, and tongue, but some are internal. Thus, we sometimes classify feelings of pain that are generated from certain regions of the body as those resulting from such elusive, but commonplace, conditions as a toothache or a headache. Each sensory receptor detects its own special form of energy, transduces the aforementioned energy, and transmits a signal to the brain. The reception of the signal in the brain represents sensation. How the brain interprets these signals and makes them meaningful is called perception.

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Approximate Word count = 1908
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

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