Microgenesis of the length perception of paired lines

Abstract

The changes in perception associated with exposure time are probably continuous in the microgenetic process, as is demonstrated by such phenomena as intensity change in illusions, adaptation and normalization, practice effect, aftereffects, etc. The simultaneous contrast and assimilation in the perception of length of paired lines were measured by controlling the exposure duration or repetition. In the tachistoscopic experiment, the greatest contrast appeared at an early stage of microgenesis. In the repeated presentation experiment, the perception changed from contrast to assimilation on the expanded stage of microgenesis. These changes in perception are assumed to be the results of the differentiation of set that progresses in the microgenetic process. In the fixed-set experiment, the differentiation of set was reflected in the intensity of the aftereffect. The changes in the aftereffect and the transformation into the assimilation coincided with each other when the exposure time was varied. An expansion of the conception of perceptual microgenesis to a wider range of perceptual variability is accordingly proposed.