Research article summary (published 30 Jul 2009):

Further analysis of perception of the standard Müller-Lyer figures in pigeons (Columba livia) and humans (Homo sapiens): effects of length of brackets.

Full Abstract

Nakamura, Fujita, Ushitani, & Miyata (2006) have shown that pigeons perceive the standard Müller-Lyer illusion. In this report, the authors examined effects of bracket sizes on perception of this illusion in pigeons (Columba livia) and humans (Homo sapiens). In Experiment 1, three pigeons were retrained to classify six lengths of target lines into "long" and "short" by pecking two keys on the monitor, ignoring the two brackets oriented toward the same direction. In the tests that followed, the standard Müller-Lyer figures of different bracket sizes were presented. All birds chose "long" more frequently for the figures having inward-pointing brackets (><) than for those having outward-pointing brackets (<>), regardless of bracket sizes. The overestimation of the target lines of inward-pointing figures continued to increase in pigeons, whereas it decreased as the bracket size became longer in humans (Experiment 2). The results suggest that these two species perceive the standard Müller-Lyer illusion with long brackets in different ways. Perhaps pigeons might not perceive illusions induced by contrast with the surrounding stimuli. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Author information

Author/s: Nakamura, Noriyuki (N); Watanabe, Sota (S); Fujita, Kazuo (K);

Affiliation: Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. nnakamura.illusion(-atsign-)gmail.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) (J Comp Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Aug; vol 123 (issue 3) : pp 287-94

Dates: Created 2009/08/18; Completed 2009/09/25;

PMID: 19685970, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/25/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult Aged Aged, 80 and over Animals Attention Columbidae Discrimination Learning Female Humans Male

Male Middle Aged Optical Illusions Orientation Pattern Recognition, Visual Psychophysics Reversal Learning Size Perception Species Specificity Young Adult

Related articles

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

• Perception of the standard and the reversed Müller-Lyer figures in pigeons (Columba livia) and humans (Homo sapiens). 30 Jul 2006
• Spatial attention in Ponzo-like patterns. 30 Jul 1992
• Effects of method, orientation, and size of angle on the Ponzo illusion. 29 Nov 2000
• Contingent color aftereffects: reassessing old conclusions. 30 Dec 1996
• Subjective staircase: a multiple wallpaper illusion. 30 Dec 1998
• Signal-detection analysis of the Müller-Lyer and the Horizontal-Vertical illusions. 29 Nov 1994
• An unreported size illusion. 30 Dec 1992
• The visuomotor system resists the horizontal-vertical illusion. 29 Nov 2000
• Occlusion and the distortion of alignment in three-dimensional space. 30 Dec 1992
• Framing effects and the reversed Müller-Lyer illusion. 30 Aug 1992

See 100+ related articles.

Related Article Map

Legend: - FREE Full text Article. - Abstract only. - Title only. More help.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.