Below are questions (and their answers) posed by students in Cognitive Psychology class. More will be posted if necessary.
What is the importance of visual illusion in cognition?
They are important in that they constantly confirm that perception --the process of recognizing pshysical stimuli from environments-- is influenced by prior knowledge and expectation. Meaning: perception occurs top-down. In Muller-Lyer illusion, both shapes resemble corner rooms: the previous resembles one with peceiver being inside it, and the latter outside it. Our experiences suggest that objects outside the room we are in must be smaller that objects inside. This is why we cannot help but 'seeing' the left picture having a longer vertical line than that of the right picture. (note that this means only member of cultures familiar with rectangular buildings, us included, will be deluded by this illusions).
If we know how one illusion deceives us, can we consciously avoid it?
Not without tactile intervention. When we see Muller-Lyer illusion, for example, it turns out that our mind uses our knowledge about three-dimensional world to only comprehend two-dimensional stimulus. That means, we use more knowledge than we need to. Apparently, this extra knowledge disrupts our perception accuracy, not enhance it. However, we can omit the illusion by, for example, measuring both vertical lines using two standard ruler simultaneously.
Who invented visual illusion?
There is an interesting answer to this question if you are into world history. Note that one of histories' early scientist are also artist. Artist like Da Vinci works by mimicking his visual surroundings onto his paintings. With this method he mastered visual elements essential for visual perception (You've known these by the terms monocular cues, and binocular cues). Historically, there is a surprisingly wondeful vicious cycle among mimicking, understanding, and having revelation on aesthetics.
If we know how one illusion deceives us, can we consciously avoid it?
Not without tactile intervention. When we see Muller-Lyer illusion, for example, it turns out that our mind uses our knowledge about three-dimensional world to only comprehend two-dimensional stimulus. That means, we use more knowledge than we need to. Apparently, this extra knowledge disrupts our perception accuracy, not enhance it. However, we can omit the illusion by, for example, measuring both vertical lines using two standard ruler simultaneously.
Who invented visual illusion?
There is an interesting answer to this question if you are into world history. Note that one of histories' early scientist are also artist. Artist like Da Vinci works by mimicking his visual surroundings onto his paintings. With this method he mastered visual elements essential for visual perception (You've known these by the terms monocular cues, and binocular cues). Historically, there is a surprisingly wondeful vicious cycle among mimicking, understanding, and having revelation on aesthetics.
