Fuchs's transparency occurs when the contour of a transparent surface encloses the contour of another surface located on an underlying homogeneous background. The luminance conditions of Fuchs's transparency have not yet been determined. Six experiments were designed to study this problem with achromatic two-dimensional patterns. An ellipse enclosing a coplanar square was briefly presented. It simulated the cast of an elliptical spotlight or shadow on the square. The duration of the ellipse, the luminance of the square before the ellipse appeared, and the luminance of two squares outside the ellipse did not substantially affect the probability of perceiving the ellipse as transparent. However, this probability varied largely with the single values of the stimulus luminance differences and with the order relations of the stimulus luminances. It is concluded that this local and global luminance information conditioned the occurrence of Fuchs's transparency in two-dimensional patterns.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonB L, 1997“A theory of illusory lightness and transparency in monocular and binocular images: The role of contour junctions”Perception26419–453
2.
BeckJPrazdnyKIvryR, 1984“The perception of transparency with achromatic colors”Perception & Psychophysics35407–422
3.
BourdonB, 1936“Sur un experience de transparence”Journal de Psychologie33712–716
4.
BozziP, 1975“Osservazioni su alcuni casi di trasparenza fenomenica realizzabili con figure a tratto”, in Studies in Perception: Festschrift for Fabio Metelli Ed. d'ArcaisG B Flores (Milano: Martello) pp 88–110
5.
BressanP, 1993a“Neon colour spreading with and without its figural prerequisites”Perception22353–361
6.
BressanP, 1993b“Revisitation of the luminance conditions for the occurrence of the achromatic neon color spreading illusion”Perception & Psychophysics5455–64
7.
BrillM H, 1984“Physical and informational constraints on the perception of transparency and translucency”Computer Vision, Graphics, and Image Processing28356–362
FuchsW, 1923“Experimentelle Untersuchungen über das simultane Hintereinandersehen auf derselben Sehrichtung”Zeitschrift für Psychologie91145–235 [For a digest in English see EllisW D, 1950A Source Book of Gestalt Psychology (New York: Humanities Press) pp 89–94]
10.
FukudaMMasinS C, 1993“Test of balanced transparency”Perception2337–43
11.
GlynnA J, 1954“Apparent transparency and the tunnel effect”Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology6125–139
12.
GyobaJ, 1983“Stationary phantoms: A completion effect without motion and flicker”Vision Research23205–211
13.
KanizsaG, 1955“Condizioni ed effetti della trasparenza fenomenica”Rivista di Psicología49(3) 3–19
14.
KanizsaG, 1979Organization in Vision: Essays on Gestalt Perception (New York: Praeger)
15.
KoffkaK, 1935Principles of Gestalt Psychology (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World)
16.
KozakiT, 1974“The role of background lightness in the apparent transparency”, report number 7, Psychological Laboratory, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
17.
KozakiTFukudaMNakanoYMasudaN, 1989“Phenomenal transparency and other related phenomena”Hiyoshi Review of Natural Science (Keio University)668–81
18.
KozakiTNakanoY, 1990“New pattern in scission effect and phenomenal transparency” [in Japanese with English summary] Hiyoshi Review of Natural Science (Keio University)879–87
19.
MasinS C, 1984a“A psychophysical study of the Fuchs phenomenon”Perception13521–526
MasinS C, 1991“A weighted-average model of achromatic transparency”Perception & Psychophysics49563–571
22.
MasinS C, 1997“The luminance conditions of transparency”Perception2639–50
23.
MasinS CCavedonABressanP, 1980“An experimental study of the role of achromatic colour in partial transparency” report number 16, Institute of Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
24.
MasinS CFukudaM, 1993“The occurrence of achromatic transparency”Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society31537–540
25.
MetelliF, 1970“An algebraic development of the theory of perceptual transparency”Ergonomics1359–66
26.
MetelliF, 1974“The perception of transparency”Scientific American230(4) 91–98
27.
MetelliF, 1975“On the visual perception of transparency”, in Studies in Perception: Festschrift for Fabio Metelli Ed. d'ArcaisG B Flores (Milano: Martello) pp 445–487
28.
MeyerG ESenecalM, 1983“The illusion of transparency and subjective contours”Perception & Psychophysics3458–64
29.
MorinagaS, 1952“The law of similarity and the organisation of visual field” [in Japanese] in Chiwa Sensei Kanreki Ki-nen Ronbunshu Ed. SagaraM, (Tokyo: University of Tokyo) pp 9–15
30.
OyamaTNakaharaJ, 1960“The effect of lightness, hue, and area upon the apparent transparency” [in Japanese with English summary]Japanese Journal of Psychology3135–48
31.
TayaREhrensteinW HCavoniusC R, 1995“Varying the strength of the Munker–White effect by stereoscopic viewing”Perception24685–694
32.
Tudor-HartB, 1928“Studies in transparency, form, and color”Psychologische Forschung10255–298
33.
van TuijlH F J M, 1975“A new illusion: Neonlike color spreading and complementary color induction between subjective contours”Acta Psychologica39441–445
34.
VarinD, 1971“Fenomeni di contrasto e diffusione cromatica nell'organizzazione spaziale del campo percettivo”Rivista di Psicologia65101–128
35.
VicarioG, 1978“Chromatic changes due to figural properties”Italian Journal of Psychology5261–264
36.
WatanabeTCavanaghP, 1993“Transparent surfaces defined by implicit X junctions”Vision Research162339–2346
37.
WhiteM, 1979“A new effect of pattern on perceived lightness”Perception8413–416
