Necker Cube Reversals Research Articles

Necker cube reversals in young, middle-aged, and elderly females.

This research dealt with the reversing Necker cube illusion and its relationship to age in healthy, community-dwelling female adults. 36 respondents representing three age groups (20-39, 40-59, and 61-80 yr.) were tested. Age was unrelated to experiencing the Necker cube illusion contrary to predictions based on previous research and stimulus persistence theory. The role of sampling effects in gerontological research outcomes is discussed.

Test of two theories of the Necker Cube reversal.

Two theories have been put forth to explain the Necker Cube reversal illusion. Kohler and Wallach ( 1 ) introduced the satiational theory and Rock ( 2 ) purposed a higher order, cognitive view wherein a constructional process mediates this illusion. A total of 51 university students were tested in three experimental sessions, separated by 1-day periods, in a repeated-measures design. Each session involved watching a Necker cube for a 2-min. period with subjects recording the number of reversals experienced. One session involved the plain cube, another had a fixation mark in the cube's center, and a third had a mark which appeared for 30 sec. at each of four positions which were %-in. off center and located on the vertical and horizontal axes of the cube. The mark moved from top location to bottom to left and to right. The order of session presentation was counterbalanced. Students were informed as to the nature of this illusion and were asked to take a passive attitude. Each cube had a 4-in. square front and back with 2-in. long diagonal sides which made a 50 angle with the horizontal base and top of the front square which was done and to the left of the back square. Each cube was projected from behind onto the center of a translucent viewing screen via an 8-mm motion picture projector set at 24 frames/sec. The screen was 18 in. from the student's nose which intersected the central axis of the screen approximately at right angles. If a satiational mechanism is operative, the highest number of reversals should be reported with fixation mark, an intermediate number with plain cube, and the lowest number with sequential fixation. If a purely cognitive, constructional process is involved, the experimental manipulations should have no effect on rate of reversal between the two alternate percepts. A Latin square analysis of number of reversals in the three 2-min. sessions for the 5 1 students yielded nonsignificant effects of group, order, and interaction of the viewing condition X order. Pooling like viewing conditions, a single-factor, repeated-measures analysis of variance showed viewing conditions were significant (Fz.la, = 3.3, f i < .05). Newman-Keuls analysis indicated a significant difference between no fixation ( M = 29.28, SD = 14.08) and sequential fixation ( M = 25.78, SD = 15.11), with fixation ( M = 27.22, SD = 14.98) in between. Such results are inconclusive with respect to the two views as was prior work ( 3 ) . However, number of reversals reported between viewing conditions significantly correlated ( p < .05) .76 for no-fixation and fixation, .83 for noand sequential-fixation, and .76 for fixation and sequential fixation. In a pilot smdy ( N = 51) of the same design, but with only two sessions separated by a 1-mo. period. r was .76. The mechanism of this illusion operates at a fairly constant rate for each person across viewing conditions whether separated by 1-day or 1-mo. periods. This fairly stable rate may indicate the involvement of a lower-order mechanism (satiation) under passive and informed instructions. A higher order mechanism might be expected to fluctuate more in its operation on different days, depending more on cognitive and motivational components.

The influence of line reduction and image stabilization on Necker cube reversal: comments upon Ellis and Stark (1978).

The influence of line reduction and image stabilization on Necker cube reversal: comments upon Ellis and Stark (1978).

Necker cube reversals, arousal and psychopathy.

Necker cube reversals were studied in a group of 24 arrested men in three experimental sessions; two weeks, one week and immediately before trial. The first session was assumed to represent a moderate laboratory stress due to the novelty of the situation, and the last session a real-life stress associated with anticipation of appearing in court. Both were superimposed on the sustained real-life stress of being in jail. There were no stress-related changes between the three sessions in the rate of apparent change (RAC) of the Necker cube. The intra-individual stability of RAC was extremely high. There were significant positive correlations between RAC in all sessions, and a psychopathy-related inventory scale, the Gough delinquency scale.

Reversible perspective figures and eye movements.

Eye movements and perspective reversals were continuously recorded on film for 9 subjects who fixated a central point on black line drawings of the Necker cube and Rubin vase figure. There were significantly more Necker cube reversals than Rubin figure reversals in the 1 1/2-min. test periods. Perceptual reversals were unrelated to the occurrence of eye movements but appear possibly to be related to the perceived tridimensionality of the figures.

Necker Cube Reversal: Sensory or Psychological Satiation?

24 students, 5 male and 19 female, were used in a repeated-measures factorial design to test two theories of Necker cube reversal. It was hypothesized that cubes with complete contours and high figure-ground contrast would reverse at faster rates than cubes with incomplete contours and low contrast if a sensory satiation theory (Köhler & Wallach, 1944) is valid, but at the same rate if the satiation of an orientation theory (Orbach, Ehrlich, & Health, 1963) is correct. High contrast was achieved with black contours on white grounds and vice versa, low contrast with gray contours on black and white grounds. Cubes with complete contours, and stimuli in which only the eight corners of the cube were visible through 18-mm holes superimposed upon the complete cube, provided the contour variable. The results showed a higher reversal rate for cubes with complete contours but no contrast effect. The results were interpreted as supporting a sensory satiation theory.

Necker cube reversals as a function of age and IQ

Two new visual perspectives of the Necker cube have been noted with an emphasis on the use of these perspectives in perceptual research. Twenty-five high IQ children ages 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 and 25 low IQ children ages 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 were asked to reverse the Necker cube under three different instructional sets. The second and third sets of instructions involved the training of four different visual perspectives of the Necker cube. The results showed that IQ and age both significantly effect the number of reversals of the Necker cube. Except for 11-year-olds, low IQ children perceived fewer reversals than high IQ children.

Effects of order and trial on Necker cube reversals under free and resistive instructions.

Habituated but not practiced Ss were required to count the reversals of the Necker cube under free (passive) and hold (resistive) instructions. Two 30-sec. trials under each instructional set, for 2 testing periods, were administered. Two groups of 15 men each viewed the trials in the orders: free, free, hold, hold and hold, hold, free, free. Stable free and hold scores over these 2 testing periods were sought. For the free scores, successive trials, periods, and the order conditions did not produce significant changes in the number of fluctuations. However, the trials × orders interaction was significant. For the hold-score analysis, trials, and trials × periods × orders interaction was significant. In general, the order interaction for the free scores and the significant effects for the hold scores were interpreted as related to a failure to provide a number of habituation trials in the hold condition equal to those for the free conditions. Suggestions for obtaining stable free and hold fluctuation scores over a short testing period and a possible procedure for studying both free and hold scores as related to personality variables were presented.

Necker cube perspective dominance as a function of retinal disparity.

Necker cube reversal rate and dominance of cube orientation were measured for 60 Ss under three conditions of disparity, both with and without steady fixation. Passive instructions were given. Retinal disparity increased mildly the dominance of the orientation consonant with the disparity. This effect was greater without a fixation point. Retinal disparity affected reversal rate, but the presence or absence of a fixation point did not.

The effect of instructions upon Necker Cube reversal

The effect of ego-involving suggestion on perception of Necker Cube reversals was examined. It was hypothesized that Ss told that “intelligent people see more reversals,” would report more reversals (Group H-H), and Ss told that “intelligent people see less reversals,” would report less reversals (Group H-L). Both groups were expected to differ from a non-suggestion group (Group C). The difference between groups was reliable. Multiple comparisons indicated that Group H-L had reliably fewer reversals that either Group C or Group H-H, which did not differ from each other. The lack of difference between Groups H-H and C may have been due to an elevation of reversal rate in Group C because of the achievement motivation characteristic of the college student.

Arousal and Necker Cube Reversals

Two experiments are described in which E attempted to vary arousal level and observe the effect on the rate of reversals of the Necker Cube illusion. Basal skin conductance (BSC) was used to index arousal level. In Experiment I, muscle tension (induced by having S press a hand dynamometer) and extraneous auditory stimulation (a buzzer) did increase reversal rate but had no systematic effect upon BSC. Whereas in Experiment I, these operations took place before S started reporting reversals, in Experiment II, S pressed the dynamometer during a short pause within the observation period. Muscle tension caused an increase in BSC and a concurrent decrease in rate of reversal. Thus, the experimental manipulations in these experiments influenced the reports of Necker Cube reversals, but had no systematic effect upon BSC.

Change in level of arousal during childhood

The problem of changes in arousal at different ages during childhood is considered. The Necker Cube reversal rate is taken as a measure of arousal and data are reported showing a lowering of arousal level as children get older. The results, together with other characteristics of children's performance, are considered in terms of cortical-subcortical relations.

Change in level of arousal during childhood

The problem of changes in arousal at different ages during childhood is considered. The Necker Cube reversal rate is taken as a measure of arousal and data are reported showing a lowering of arousal level as children get older. The results, together with other characteristics of children's performance, are considered in terms of cortical-subcortical relations.

BODILY ACTIVITY AND PERCEPTUAL ACTIVITY.

This report describes the results of 2 studies designed to test the hypothesis that there is an inverse relation between bodily and perceptual activity. In Study I 100 college students' bodily movements were recorded by kymograph while they were tested for the autokinetic illusion, reversible figure-ground, Necker cube reversals, and visual figural aftereffects. No significant correlations were found between bodily movement and perceptual scores. Study II involved only autokinetic illusion scores and induced bodily activity of 200 Ss. Significant linear correlations were found in the expected direction, i.e., bodily movement correlated positively with autokinetic latency in both males and females; bodily movement was negatively correlated with extent of autokinetic movement in females. Female Ss in both studies showed significantly greater autokinetic latency than males.

REVERSIBILITY OF THE NECKER CUBE: III. EFFECTS OF INTERPOLATION ON REVERSAL RATE OF THE CUBE PRESENTED REPETITIVELY.

The neuropsychological concept of satiation of orientation proposed to account for Necker cube reversals was examined. Under passive viewing, experiments were conducted (1) to compare reversal rates of the Necker cube presented to various parts of one or both retinas at a number of repetition rates, (2) to determine the effects of interpolating various related figures between successive exposures of the Necker cube, (3) to determine whether reversal rate of the Maltese cross, a figure-ground reversible figure, is similarly affected by varying repetition rate. The results indicated the following. (1) Reversal rates of Necker cube and Maltese cross were profoundly affected by varying repetition rate. This effect was independent of retinal locus. More reversals were mediated by the right than by the left hemisphere. (2) The interpolation Necker cube with axis of orientation similar to that of the test Necker cube had the effect of shifting the reversal rates toward that of continuous viewing even when there was no coincidence of the two cubes on the retina. The cube with axis of orientation opposite that of the test cube was ineffective. (3) Ipsilateral interpolation was more effective than contralateral interpolation in shifting the reversal rate toward that of the continuous case. (4) Since interpolation was quite effective when test cube was presented to one eye and interpolation cube to the contralateral eye, an explanation of reversals based upon retinal fatigue or related peripheral mechanisms is ruled out.

Influence of massing and spacing on Necker Cube reversals.

Influence of massing and spacing on Necker Cube reversals.

Some factors affecting Necker cube reversal rate.

Some factors affecting Necker cube reversal rate.