Abstract
The purpose of this study was to provide a preliminary investigation on the effects of extra-object context on the perceived shape of depicted objects. Two hypotheses were examined: (1) support structures can affect apparent shape, and (2) parallel lines between objects affect apparent shape. Subjects made judgments about angles in depicted parallelopipeds. The parallelopipeds were depicted alone, supported by compression, and supported by tension. Some of the depictions contained parallel lines between support structures and objects. Results indicate context effects for objects supported by compression (all containing parallel lines between objects), but not for objects supported by tension. Parallel lines between support structure and object can-not account for the results of objects supported by tension.
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The author is indebted to Kimberly Baker, who ran most of the subjects in this experiment and in pilot work. Also, thanks are due to Sonja Binder and Patty Sawyer for helping to run subjects. This research was supported in part by a grant from the Ball State University Office of Research.
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Butler, D.L. Some effects of support on perceived shape of depicted objects. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 26, 214–216 (1988). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337291
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337291