Reversibility of the Necker Cube: V. Effect of Movement of the Figure on the Perception of Reversals

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Abstract
It has been proposed that growth of “satiation” to a critical value is responsible for the reversals of perspective seen in the Necker cube; when the satiation process is somehow prevented from reaching the critical value, the “preferred orientation” is invariably reported. In the present experiment, the rate of reversal was markedly attenuated when the Necker cube was rotated or oscillated about the central axis. To explain these data, it is assumed that angular movement (and the resultant inconstancy of the axis of orientation of the cube) prevented “satiation” from reaching the critical value necessary to produce reversals. However, the reports did not conform to “preferred orientation.” Instead, the initial percept became “locked-in” for the period of the trial.