Hypothesis

April-01-11
- The red exclamation marks denote assumptions that most likely need empirical justification (experiment)
7:36 PM - The light bulbs denote assumptions that might need empirical justification but not necessarily
- The question marks denote questions that I believe are somewhat important and should possibly be
considered for the experiment
- The star denotes certain ideas that might be superfluous but might be helpful
So what's going on!?

- The illusory contours aren't visible when nothing is occluding

the white rectangle (f1)
Since no contours are perceived when one of the grey
dots appears slightly outside of the rectangle, it is can
be concluded that the grey dots alone do not suffice for
the perception of contours

f1

- As soon as the vertical disc pair move inwards and occlude the horizontal
sides of the rectangle, illusory contours begin to appear (f2)
It is likely that discs alone would not suffice for contours and that it
is necessary to have the vertical dot pair move outwards in order for
the contours to be perceived
 Because without the small circles, the visual system can easily
infer that the occlusion is taking place because the grey circles
are blocking it from the observer but the appearance of the
small circles brings in a new element that might lead to the
perception of the contours
- Also ---> as soon as the grey dot pairs (horizontal and vertical) leave the
rectangle, the discs occlude the sides and this occluding is simultaneous
with the grey dots leaving the rectangle
The visual system might attribute the occlusion to the smaller dots f2
instead of the discs ---> why?
- Probably due to the cues given by the small circles (to be
shortly discussed)

- The discs function to occlude the rectangle (occlusion)

- The grey dots function to represent a single expanding and
contracting object (common fate)

The shape of the illusory contours mainly depends on the

degree to which the discs occlude the white rectangle (f3)
 The illusory contours can be outlined by connecting the
outer circumference of the circle at the points where the
sides of the rectangle are no longer occluded
□ Evidence that the discs are necessary

○ But when only the vertical discs occlude the sides of the
rectangle, then the visual system uses the grey dots to establish
the boundaries of the contours
□ Evidence that the small circles are necessary

More on the small circles

- Although all small circle pairs are not in sync with one
another, there is within-pair synchrony (horizontal and
vertical). When the objects are set in motion, the
synchrony of the grey dot pairs can be related to the
common fate cue

Therefore the visual system infers that it is much more probable

that there is a camouflaged object given the occlusion (done by
the discs) and the quasi-synchronous motion of the dots
(common fate) f3
Why is this more likely than the interpretation that there is
no single object?

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Neural Basis --- just some description of the CNS activity

involved in processing the demo
- Feed-forward processes
○ We can talk a little about the nature of --- not yet complete
internal top-down processes
 Innate (evolutionary)/acquired
 Expectations/memory
 Statistics of the world

Implicit understanding of the physics of the world (pg87)

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 --- not yet complete
internal top-down processes
 Innate (evolutionary)/acquired
 Expectations/memory
 Statistics of the world

Implicit understanding of the physics of the world (pg87)

Helmholtz --- unconscious inference

- Automatic cue combination
- Basically the decision making process is automatic

Some words on the Bayesian approach…(we'll introduce the

concept of a "Bayesian Perceptual Committee Model" near
the end
Pasted from
lecture slides

- The probability of the camouflaged object being present given the

input ---> P(CO|I)
- The probability of the camouflaged object being absent given the
input ---> P(~CO|I) -------------------------- negation symbol (~)

- Which is more probable?

○ P(CO|I) = P(I|CO)*P(CO)
○ P(~CO|I) = P (I|~CO)*P(~CO)

 Assuming that the visual system takes a Bayesian

approach, it seems the overall probability that there
is a camouflaged occluding object is higher than the
probability that there is not such a thing

- Something about the history of the

individual (life or evolutionary past)
makes the perceived image probable a - Every image reflected onto the retina is ambiguous to some
What is perceived priori. degree (pg86)

Input
- There has to be something about the input that increases the
probability of there being a camouflaged object
○ Cues in the demo

The Heuristics
 A priori in the sense that they tell their effects are in some sense pre -
established before any sort of experience and in that sense they are
related to the prior probability factor (priori probability factor)
 A posteriori in the sense that the cues are available through experience
and vary depending on the input processed by the visual system < --
which depends on the observer's experience (likelihood factor)

More on the visual Heuristics (middle vision)

- History
○ Gestalt school (late nineteen to early twentieth century)
 "the perceptual whole is more than the sum of all its sensory parts"
- Occlusion
○ Seems to play a big role in causing the illusory contours
○ When the edges of an object or part of the object are suddenly cut off, the visual system
keeps a representation of the object as a whole ---> that is, the visual system interprets
the sudden disappearance of edges in an image projected onto the retinae as if another
object has obstructed the light reflecting from it ---> this heuristic has a very well-defined
adaptive function and that is to allow observers in the world to continue to have a holistic
representation of objects even though the images projected onto the retinae are seldom
whole - any given scene projected onto the retinae usually contains a multitude of objects
which usually have many parts blocked by other objects depending on their relative
distance to the observer.
 The visual system's use of this cue is evident in Kanizsa figures which are images that
take advantage of the heuristic and lead observers to perceive illusory contours:
□ The image reflected onto the retinae contains certain shapes that are
systematically cut off in order to portray the sense that another shape (usually
a simple square or triangle) is blocking the cut off sections and obstructing the
reflection of light from those parts. An innate understanding of the physics of
the world regarding the opacity of solid objects is perhaps influencing the
perception of the observers. (pg87) Certain top-down mechanisms seem to be
causing the observer to perceive contours representing the outline of the
inferred occluding shape, but these contours are purely illusory because there

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 inferred occluding shape, but these contours are purely illusory because there
is no change in the amount of light that is reflected from the sections around
the outline and within the outline. (pg 83)

○ What is interesting about the demo is that the objects that occlude the rectangular outline
are clearly represented as grey discs. That is, the need for the visual system to create
contours in order to represent an image occluding the rectangle does not seem to be
required since the grey discs are clearly responsible. Illusory contours are needed for the
visual system to make sense of occluded figures but why are they needed even when the
occluding figures are prominently displayed?
The four small circles are activating another heuristic that is responsible for the
contours
- The visual system computes that it is more probable for there to be a third object
(represented by the illusory contours), given the occlusion done by the four discs
and the movement of the four small circles.
- Why does the visual system makes this conclusion?
 Speculations:
Perhaps the asynchrony of the two pairs of discs has something to
do with it ---> maybe it is more improbable that something in the
world would have this kind of movement than if there is another
object involved
 Related to the implicit understanding of the physics of the
world?
- Common fate
Explanation:
• when parts of a design are all moving in the same direction look like they are all part of
the same unit
• in a design or layout, the directional lines that move in the same direction are said to
have a common fate or destiny
• when two objects are in the same direction in a layout, the directional lines become
dominant within the design
• these directional lines can point a viewer’s gaze in a particular direction
- The parts that move together are then grouped together and perceived as being a single
object

Applicability to the Demo:

• Common fate can be applied to the demo when it comes to the vertical and horizontal
dots and disks
• The law of common fate allows for the dots and disks to be delineated into separate
groupings: vertical dots, horizontal dots, vertical disks, horizontal disks. The dots/disks
within each of these groups are moving together (two vertical moving dots are moving
together, for example), but the groups are moving as four separate grouped entities which
allows for the directional lines to become dominant within the design.
- Although this theoretically creates four separate groups of entities, it is probable that the
similarity and proximity cues are grouping the four grey discs and four small circles
together.
- Similarity
- If objects look similar, they are grouped together
- The four grey discs look alike and can therefore be grouped together in the
respect, and the four small circles look alike and can therefore be grouped
together in that respect
 Moreover ---> the four small circles have the same velocity and it is
slightly faster than the velocity at which the grey discs move ---
providing further separation and grouping
- Proximity
- Closer objects are grouped together
- The four small circles are much closer together than the four grey discs, which
leads to the grouping of the four circles
 What's happening to the grey discs?
◊ It is indeed likely that this cue is working against their being
grouped together as a single object, given their distance from one
another

The Bayesian perceptual committee model

- P(CO|I) = P(I|CO)*P(CO) ----> present

- P(~CO|I) = P (I|~CO)*P(~CO) ----> absent

○ We propose that the visual system's inference about objects in the 3D world (based on the
2D image), is an automatic decision making process which can be represented by the
Bayesian probability principle.

- The probability that the illusory contours are caused by a single object is likely due
to the heuristics that are feeding the likelihood factor which group the four small
circles together

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 More cues responsible and worth mentioning

- Global superiority effect

○ The visual system takes precedence in distinguishing what the large -scale objects are
before determining the parts of the whole
Therefore before the smaller components present in the demo are analyzed, the
images reflected onto the retinae are chunked into several larger objects and thus
the occlusion for which the grey discs are responsible for, is attributed to a larger
object represented by the four small circles
Law of Pragnaz ---> Parsimony
○ The visual system prefers basic explanations rather than more complex ones (pg90)
 Perhaps it is a much more explanation to conclude that the a single object is
occluding the rectangular outline than four different objects (grey discs)
Maybe the asynchronous motion of the vertical-horizontal pairs of discs
creates complications

Not a whole lot must be said about these but they are also worth mentioning

- Symmetry
○ Both sets can be said to create symmetrical patterns
- Similarity
○ Equal similarity for grey discs and small circles
- Law of proximity
○ Objects closer to each other are more likely to be grouped
together than items that are more widely separated
 Grey discs are more distant from each other in
comparison with the small circles
- Law of familiarity
○ Very speculative but it's possible that the motion of the small
circles seem somewhat familiar to the visual system
 Especially in relation to the motion of the grey discs
 Their motion seems more biological
- Figure-ground --- "is a region A in front of a region B" (pg88)
○ Size
 Small circles are much smaller than the grey discs AND
the symmetrical shape that the four combined make is
much smaller than a shape that connecting the grey
discs would make
○ Surroundedness
 The grey discs can be said to contain the small circles

Perception of motion --- evolutionary functions

- Breaking camouflage
- Perceiving living things

○ These might have to do with the "biological" motion of the four small circles

Hypothesis:
As represented by the Bayesian theorem, we hypothesize that the visual system works in a
probabilistic manner and certain heuristics alter the likelihood factor in the equation and invoke the
perception of an illusory figure ; the combination of occlusion and common fate in conjunction with
the similarity and proximity cue are responsible for the visual system's grouping of the four small
circles and the attribution of occlusion to their illusory contours.

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