Abstract
The kinetic depth effect refers to the three-dimensional appearance of a two-dimensional moving shadow cast by a three-dimensional object rotating in depth on a translucent screen. Informal observations indicated that the appearance of depth is strong and convincing when the moving shadow is progressively exposed in a narrow aperture in the manner of the ZoUner-Parks effect. These observations were confirmed in two experiments with two- and three-dimensional “skeletal” objects. Apparent depth of the objects and of their movement was reported both when the fractionally visible shadows passing across the aperture were symmetrical and when they were asymmetrical about their vertical axes. These data show that information about the depth of an object and its movement is integrated over time, presumably in a similar manner to outline shape in the earlier ZoUner-Parks studies.
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The idea for progressively exposing the projection of a rotating object in a narrow aperture arose in the course of discussions of the KDE and the ZoUner-Parks effect with Emily Bushnell and B. E. McKenzie during one of a series of seminars on perception in early infancy in 1988. The contributions of both colleagues are gratefully acknowledged. The assistance of Richard Hobbs, Vladimir Kohout, and Rosemary Williams in technical matters, and of Fiona Duffy in the collection and analysis of data is gratefully acknowledged.
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Day, R.H. Apparent depth from progressive exposure of moving shadows: The kinetic depth effect in a narrow aperture. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 27, 320–322 (1989). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334615
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334615