The Effects of Spatial and Temporal Factors on the Perception of Stroboscopic Rotation Simulations

In the present two experiments subjects viewed discontinuous, i.e. stroboscopic, simulations of a transparent sphere partially filled with randomly positioned luminous dots and rotating about the y axis in depth. Over a range of stimulus conditions, such simulations elicited coherent sensations of continuous rotation and internal volume of the sphere. By manipulating both spatial and temporal variables in the simulations, it was attempted to define the boundary conditions for which corresponding elements of a simulation are perceptually paired from frame to frame to yield coherent sensations of rotation and depth. The results indicated that the process that matches or pairs corresponding elements in a three-dimensional simulation cannot be identified with the process that matches corresponding elements in similar two-dimensional displays. Furthermore, temporal factors influenced the perception of these simulations more than did spatial factors, and rotation-judgment accuracy and perceived depth were different functions of temporal frequency. Over a range of temporal frequencies, such three-dimensional simulations are apparently processed in a manner similar to that in which objects undergoing real motion are processed.