Abstract
Lateral inhibition has been suggested as the mechanism that is responsible for many of the visual geometric illusions. It operates through the mutual inhibition and displacement of spatially adjacent contours. Using a modified Wundt-Hering illusion, it was shown that, even in the absence of such spatially adjacent contours, the expected illusion still occurs. This result casts some doubt on the adequacy of the lateral inhibitory explanation of geometric illusions.
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References
von BEKESY, G. Sensory inhibition. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1967.
GANZ, L. Mechanism of the figural after effects. Psychological Review, 1966, 73, 128–150.
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Coren, S. Lateral inhibition and the Wundt-Hering illusion. Psychon Sci 18, 341 (1970). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03332388
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03332388