Principles of perceptual organization and spatial distortion: The gestalt illusions

Abstract

Five experiments with 94 normally seeing undergraduates demonstrated that organization of the visual field according to gestalt principles results in measurable spatial distortions. Using the principles of proximity, similarity, good continuation, and 2 types of closure, it was found that interior distances (within a perceptual unit or group) were underestimated relative to exterior distances. The relationship between these spatial distortions and the resultant perceptual organization are discussed. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1980 American Psychological Association.