Geometrical haptic illusions: the role of exploration in the Müller-Lyer, vertical-horizontal, and Delboeuf illusions.

Abstract

This article surveys studies of the occurrence, in the haptic modality, of three geometrical illusions well known in vision, and it discusses the nature of the processes underlying these haptic illusions. We argue that the apparently contradictory results found in the literature concerning them may be explained, at least partially, by the characteristics of manual exploratory movements. The Müller-Lyer illusion is present in vision and in haptics and seems to be the result of similar processes in the two modalities. The vertical-horizontal illusion also exists in vision and haptics but is due partly to similar processes (bisection) and partly to processes specific to each modality (anisotropy of the visual field and overestimation of radial vs. tangential manual exploratory movements). The Delboeuf illusion seems to occur only in vision, probably because exploration by the index finger may exclude the misleading context from tactile perception. The role of these haptic exploratory movements may explain why haptics is as sensitive as vision to certain illusions and less sensitive to others.