Ebbinghaus Illusion | Titchener circles
Do either of the two circles in the middle look bigger? Ask yourself which of the two middle circles is bigger. Did you find your answer ? Ebbinghaus Illusion has taken you for a ride.
What is Ebbinghaus Illusion | Titchener circles
The Ebbinghaus illusion is a perception based optical illusion . The effect was named for its discoverer, the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus ( know more about him here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Ebbinghaus ) who lived in 19th century. This famous size-contrast illusion is also called Titchener circles. In the best-known version of the illusion, two circles of identical size are placed near to each other and one is surrounded by larger circles while the other is surrounded by smaller circles. Almost everyone who sees this image will say that the central circle on the left is smaller than the one on the right.
How Ebbinghaus Illusion works ?
The illusion leans on the fact that our brain specifically our visual-attention system uses context to determine the size of objects. The green circle on the left is surrounded by larger circles, making it seem small by comparison. The one on the right is surrounded by smaller circles, making it seem big.
Ebbinghaus in the Real World
Several experiments have shown that people hit softballs better when the balls are perceived as larger. People score higher in darts when the board appears larger. Athletes kick field goals and return tennis balls more successfully when the goal posts or tennis balls appear larger. In all of these studies, the balls or boards or goal posts were not actually larger, but they were perceived as larger because the experimenters created illusions. Skilled athletes often report that targets appear larger or time slows down when they are “in the zone”. Practice and skill create their own perceptual illusions that increase confidence and make difficult challenges feel easier.
Equally, artists use it for visual effect, entertaining the endless fascination human beings have with novelty and creativity.
Final Takeaway
The Ebbinghaus illusion is a classic example of the influence of a contextual surround on the perceived object. The Ebbinghaus illusion has played a crucial role in the debate over the existence of separate pathways in the brain for perception and action. These illusions have mainly been used to test theories predicting the successes and failures of the perceptual system.
Read also : What are the ten dimensions | 10 Dimensions explained ( https://thebrightdelights.com/what-are-the-ten-dimensions-10-dimensions-explained/ )