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Object updating and the flash-lag effect
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Object updating and the flash-lag effect

Cathleen M Moore and James T Enns
Psychological science, Vol.15(12), pp.866-871
12/2004
DOI: 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00768.x
PMID: 15563333

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Abstract

Flash lag is a misperception of spatial relations between a moving object and a briefly flashed stationary one. This study began with the observation that the illusion occurs when the moving object continues following the flash, but is eliminated if the object's motion path ends with the flash. The data show that disrupting the continuity of the moving object, via a transient change in size or color, also eliminates the illusion. We propose that this is because a large feature change leads to the formation of a second object representation. Direct evidence for this proposal is provided by the results for a corollary perceptual feature of the disruption in object continuity: the perception of two objects, rather than only one, on the motion path.
Space Perception - physiology Canada Visual Pathways - physiology Students - psychology Movement - physiology Analysis of Variance Photic Stimulation - methods Humans Motion Perception - physiology

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