Abstract
Attenuation of the rod-and-frame effect (RFE) with depth separation (Gogel & Newton, 1975) was investigated with the rod and frame in either intersecting or parallel depth planes (PDP). In the former case, in which either the top of the rod or the frame was inclined 45 deg away from the observer, no attenuation was found for frames projecting a retinal angle of 39.2 or 13.5 deg. In the PDP paradigm, the rod was optically 60 cm nearer the observer than was the frame. The depth adjacency effect of Gogel and Newton was replicated, but only for small retinal angles (7.2 and 6.8 deg) of the frame and for a 15-deg frame tilt, but not for larger retinal angles (39.2 and 12.7 deg) or for frames tilted at 22 deg. The absence of attenuation with depth separation in large frames and its presence in small frames is consistent with the identification of these phenomena with properties of the ambient and focal visual systems, respectively (Leibowitz & Post, 1982).
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beh, H. C, Wenderoth, P. M., &Purcell, A. T. The angular function of a rod-and-frame illusion.Perception & Psychophysics, 1971,9, 353–355.
Ebenholtz, S. M. Determinants of the rod and frame effect: The role of retinal size.Perception & Psychophysics, 1977,21, 531–538.
Ebenholtz, S. M., &Benzschawel, T. L. The rod and frame effect and induced head tilt as a function of observation distance.Perception & Psychophysics, 1977,22, 491–496.
Ebenholtz, S. M., &Callan, J. W. Modulation of the rod and frame effects: Retinal angle vs. apparent size.Psychological Research, 1980,42, 327–334.
Fox, R., &Patterson, R. Depth separation and lateral interference.Perception & Psychophysics, 1981,30, 513–520.
Gogel, W. C. The adjacency principle in visual perception.Scientific American, 1978,238, 126–139.
Gogel, W. C., &Newton, R. E. Depth adjacency and the rod-and-frame illusion.Perception & Psychophysics, 1975,18, 163–171.
Goodenough, D. R, Oltman, P. K, Sigman, E, Rosso, J., &Mertz, H. Orientation contrast effects in the rod-and-frame test.Perception & Psychophysics, 1979,25, 419–424.
Graf, R. G.The relationship between perceived head position and the perception of the vertical. Unpublished MA thesis, Connecticut College, 1966.
Grant, D. A. The statistical analysis of a frequent experimental design.American Journal of Psychology, 1949,62, 119–122.
Julesz, B. Global stereopsis: Cooperative phenomena in stereoscopic depth perception. In R. Held, H. W. Leibowitz, & H. -L. Teuber (Eds.),Handbook of sensory physiology (Vol. 8):Perception. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1978.
Lee, D., &Aronson, E. Visual proprioceptive control of standing in human subjects.Perception & Psychophysics, 1974,15, 529–532.
Lehmkuhle, S. W., &Fox, R. The effect of depth separation on metacontrast masking.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1980,6, 605–621.
Leibowitz, H. W., &Post, R. B. The two modes of processing concept and some implications. In J. J. Beck (Ed.),Organization and representation in perception, Hillsdale, N. J: Erlbaum, 1982.
Lichtenstein, J. H. &Saucer, R. T.Experimental investigation of the visual field dependency in the erect and supine positions (Technical Note 0-6883). Hampton, Va: NASA Langley Research Center, 1972 (NTIS, Springfield, Va.).
Ogle, K. N., &Ellerbrock, V. J. Cyclofusional movements.Archives of Ophthalmology, 1946,36, 700–735.
Schneider, G. E. Contrasting visuometer functions of tectum and cortex in the golden hamster.Psychologische Forschung, 1969,31, 52–62.
Sigman, E, Goodenough, D. R., &Flannagan, M. Instructions, illusory self-tilt and the rod-and-frame test.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1979,31, 155–165.
Streibel, M. J, Barnes, R. D, Julness, G. D., &Ebenholtz, S. M. Determinants of the rod and frame effect: Role of organization and subjective contour.Perception & Psychophysics, 1980,27, 136–140.
Wenderoth, P. M. The distinction between the rod-and-frame illusion and the rod-and-frame test.Perception, 1974,3, 205–212.
Witkin, H. A., &Asch, S. E. Studies in space orientation. IV. Further experiments on perception of the upright with displaced visual fields.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1948,38, 762–782.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported in part by NIH Grant EY02264.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ebenholtz, S.M., Glaser, G.W. Absence of depth processing in the large-frame rod-and-frame effect. Perception & Psychophysics 32, 134–140 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204272
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204272