Interactions of form and orientation

It is well known that the orientation of an optical pattern relative to egocentric or extraneous references affects its figural quality, that is, alters its perceived form and concomitantly delays or quickens its identification (Rock 1973). A square presented in the frontal plane to an upright person (S), for instance, changes from a box to a diamond when it is rotated with respect to the S's median plane by 45 deg. This angle, that is, the angle between the orientations of the pattern in which the two apparent figures (Gestalten) attain a summit of purity and distinctness, will be called the figural disparity of the pattern. If, as in this case, the S is upright, the retinal meridian and the subjective vertical (SV) are both in the viewer's median plane. The question arises with respect to which of these orientation references the two figures are identified. The answer may be found when the pattern and the S are oriented in such a way that the projections of the retinal meridian and the SV into the plane of the pattern diverge by the pattern's figural disparity or its periodic multiples: that is, in this case of a square by 45 or 135 deg, respectively. Similarly, which reference determines whether an equilateral triangle is seen as a pyramid or a traffic warning sign may be revealed at a divergence of SV and retinal meridian of 60 or 180 deg, respectively. It is generally found that for head roll tilts (Rho) and figural disparities of up to 90 deg, the figure whose axis coincides with the SV is seen. At head tilts of Rho=180 deg, however, the retinal reference dominates, as a rule independently of the figural disparity

Edge-region grouping in figure-ground organization and depth perception.

Edge-region grouping (ERG) is proposed as a unifying and previously unrecognized class of relational information that influences figure-ground organization and perceived depth across an edge. ERG occurs when the edge between two regions is differentially grouped with one region based on classic principles of similarity grouping. The ERG hypothesis predicts that the grouped side will tend to be perceived as the closer, figural region. Six experiments are reported that test the predictions of the ERG hypothesis for 6 similarity-based factors: common fate, blur similarity, color similarity, orientation similarity, proximity, and flicker synchrony. All 6 factors produce the predicted effects, although to different degrees. In a 7th experiment, the strengths of these figural/depth effects were found to correlate highly with the strength of explicit grouping ratings of the same visual displays. The relations of ERG to prior results in the literature are discussed, and possible reasons for ERG-based figural/depth effects are considered. We argue that grouping processes mediate at least some of the effects we report here, although ecological explanations are also likely to be relevant in the majority of cases

Motion sequence analysis in the presence of figural cues

Published in final edited form as: Neurocomputing. 2015 January 5, 147: 485–491The perception of 3-D structure in dynamic sequences is believed to be subserved primarily through the use of motion cues. However, real-world sequences contain many figural shape cues besides the dynamic ones. We hypothesize that if figural cues are perceptually significant during sequence analysis, then inconsistencies in these cues over time would lead to percepts of non-rigidity in sequences showing physically rigid objects in motion. We develop an experimental paradigm to test this hypothesis and present results with two patients with impairments in motion perception due to focal neurological damage, as well as two control subjects. Consistent with our hypothesis, the data suggest that figural cues strongly influence the perception of structure in motion sequences, even to the extent of inducing non-rigid percepts in sequences where motion information alone would yield rigid structures. Beyond helping to probe the issue of shape perception, our experimental paradigm might also serve as a possible perceptual assessment tool in a clinical setting.The authors wish to thank all observers who participated in the experiments reported here. This research and the preparation of this manuscript was supported by the National Institutes of Health RO1 NS064100 grant to LMV. (RO1 NS064100 - National Institutes of Health)Accepted manuscrip

Male figural rating scales: A critical review of the literature

Figural rating scales are tools used to measure male body dissatisfaction. The present review aimed to examine the design and psychometric properties of male figural rating scales and make recommendations based on findings. Relevant databases were systematically searched for studies that had developed and validated male figural rating scales. Twenty studies were included in this review. Figural rating scales differed in terms of the number of images represented and type of stimuli used (hand-drawn silhouettes, hand-drawn figures, computer-rendered figures, and photograph figures). Reliability and validity evidence varied greatly in strength across all scales. Four of the 20 scales included a correlational analysis between figural rating scale scores and eating disorder symptoms. Results showed the moderate to high positive correlations between eating disorder symptoms and figural rating scale perceived and index scores, suggesting that figural rating scales are sensitive to detecting eating disorder symptoms. Ideally, male figural rating scales should show strong validity and reliability, include variations in both body fat and muscularity, utilise realistic body stimuli, and be interval scales. No existing male figural rating scale meets these criteria. However, this review identifies five figural rating scales that meet the majority of the recommended criteria

PENGARUH KETERAMPILAN MENGGAMBAR MANUAL TERHADAP KREATIVITAS FIGURAL PESERTA DIDIK PADA MATA PELAJARAN GAMBAR INTERIOR DAN EKSTERIOR BANGUNAN GEDUNG KELAS XI SMK NEGERI 5 BANDUNG

Keterampilan menggambar manual dan kreativitas figural pada penelitian ini diharapkan dapat saling mempengaruhi satu sama lain terhadap produk gambar yang dihasilkan peserta didik. Keterampilan menggambar manual dan kreativitas figural ini mengacu pada ranah penilaian psikomotorik yang mengandung ranah penilaian afektif dalam salah satu aspek keterampilan menggambar manual. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengetahui keterampilan menggambar manual dan kreativitas figural peserta didik pada mata pelajaran Gambar Interior dan Eksterior Bangunan Gedung kelas XI TGB 1 di SMKN 5 Bandung, serta mengetahui pengaruh keterampilan menggambar manual terhadap kreativitas figural peserta didik. Penelitian ini penting dilakukan karena hasil observasi menunjukkan bahwa produk gambar yang dihasilkan peserta didik masih belum sesuai dengan indikator keterampilan menggambar manual dan kreativitas figural. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode korelasional dengan pendekatan kuantitatif dan tingkat ekspalasi deskriptif, karena penelitian ini akan melihat sejauh mana pengaruh keterampilan menggambar manual terhadap kreativitas figural peserta didik pada mata pelajaran Gambar Interior dan Eksterior Bangunan Gedung. Populasi pada penelitian ini adalah seluruh peserta didik kelas XI TGB di SMKN 5 Bandung dengan pengambilan sampel menggunakan teknik purposive sampling serta pengumpulan data oleh instrumen tes dan lembar observasi afektif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh yang positif dan signifikan dari keterampilan menggambar manual terhadap kreativitas figural peserta didik pada mata pelajaran Gambar Interior dan Eksterior Bangunan Gedung kelas XI TGB 1 di SMKN 5 Bandung.----------Manual drawing skill and figural creativity in this research are expected to affect each other toward the drawing products produced by students. Manual drawing skill and figural creativity refer to psychomotor assessments which contain affective score in one of manual drawing skill aspects. The purpose of this research is to get the information regarding students’ manual drawing skill and figural creativity in Interior and Exterior Building Drawing in XI TGB 1 class of SMKN 5 Bandung, and the effect of manual drawing skill toward students’ figural creativity. This research is important because the result of the observation shows that the drawing products produced by the students have not fulfilled the minimum target of the manual drawing skill aspects and figural creativity aspects. This research uses correlation method with quantitative descriptive approach, because this research will see how big the effect of manual drawing skill toward students’ figural creativity in Interior and Exterior Building Drawing. The population is the students of XI TGB class in SMKN 5 Bandung and the sampling uses purposive sampling technique with the research instruments used are testing and affective observation sheet. The results showed that there is a positive and significant effect of the manual drawing skill toward students’ figural creativity in Interior and Exterior Building Drawing in XI TGB 1 class of SMKN 5 Bandung

Hooke's figurations: a figural drawing attributed to Robert Hooke

The experimental philosopher Robert Hooke (1635–1703) is known to have apprenticed to the leading painter Peter Lely on his first arrival in London in the late 1640s. Yet the relevance of Hooke's artistic training to his mature draughtsmanship and identity has remained unclear. Shedding light on that larger interpretive problem, this article argues for the attribution to Hooke of a figural drawing now in Tate Britain (T10678). This attributed drawing is especially interesting because it depicts human subjects and bears Hooke's name functioning as an artistic signature, both highly unusual features for his draughtsmanship. From evidence of how this drawing was collected and physically placed alongside images by leading artists in the early eighteenth century, I suggest how it can offer new insight into the reception of Hooke and his graphic work in the early Enlightenment

The effect of familiarity on face adaptation

Face aftereffects can provide information on how faces are stored by the human visual system (eg Leopold et al, 2001 Nature Neuroscience 4 89 – 94), but few studies have used robustly represented (highly familiar) faces. In this study we investigated the influence of facial familiarity on adaptation effects. Participants were adapted to a series of distorted faces (their own face, a famous face, or an unfamiliar face). In experiment 1, figural aftereffects were significantly smaller when participants were adapted to their own face than when they were adapted to the other faces (ie their own face appeared significantly less distorted than a famous or unfamiliar face). Experiment 2 showed that this ‘own-face’ effect did not occur when the same faces were used as adaptation stimuli for participants who were unfamiliar with them. Experiment 3 replicated experiment 1, but included a pre-adaptation baseline. The results highlight the importance of considering facial familiarity when conducting research on face aftereffects