Group no.

Report#2

Eman Qaisar (211520004)

Tayyaba Noreen (211520005)

Munazza Rehman (211520006)

Irtaz Ijaz (211520027)

Eiza Jamil (21152059)

Practical/ Lab Experiments

PSY-406-X

Humanities and Social

Sciences, GIFT University–

Gujranwala

Prof. Nimra

May 22, 2024

 Muller-Lyer Illusion

Problem Statement

To find out how much error is involved in discriminating the length of the
lines?

Introduction

The Müller-Lyer illusion is a classic psychological experiment that demonstrates the

power of perception and how our brain can be tricked into seeing things that are not actually
there. In 1889, German psychologist Franz Müller-Lyer discovered an optical illusion that
has since been widely used to study perception and cognitive biases. The Müller-Lyer
illusion consists of two pairs of lines with arrowheads or wings added to the ends. One line
has inward-pointing arrows (like a “V” shape) at both ends, while the other has outward-
pointing arrows (like an inverted “V” shape). Typically, the line with the outward-pointing
arrows appears longer than the one with the inward-pointing arrows, despite both lines being
the same length. One pair has the arrowheads pointing outward, while the other pair has
them pointing inward. When observing the two pairs of lines, most people perceive the lines
with the outward-pointing arrowheads as longer than the lines with the inward-pointing
arrowheads, even though the lines themselves are equal in length. This illusion occurs
because our brain is influenced by the context and the way the lines are presented.
Demonstrate the power of perception and how it can be influenced by context and cognitive
biases. Show how our brain can be tricked into seeing things that are not actually there.
Explore the neural mechanisms underlying perception and decision-making. The rationale
behind conducting an experiment to test the Müller-Lyer illusion lies in exploring the
underlying mechanisms of visual perception and cognitive biases. The Müller-Lyer illusion
offers a window into how the human brain processes visual information.

The psychological concept of illusion is defined as a process involving an interaction

of logical and empirical considerations. Common usage suggests that an illusion is a
discrepancy between one's awareness and some stimulus.

Illusions distort one's senses. Most illusions tend to deceive the eyes, ears and skin,
while there are some illusions that may distort perception due to changes in internal body
structures. The three main types of illusion include optical illusions, auditory illusions, and
tactile illusions.

Types of Illusions

Optical Illusions

An optical or visual illusion is a kind of illusion in which the images perceived

through the sense of sight tend to be misleading or deceptive, causing errors in perception.
An optical illusion is based on the process through which the brain creates a visual world in
one's mind using either or both these two sources: previous memory stored in it and the
current presentation of the object in the environment.

Auditory Illusions

While optical illusions deceive the eyes through visual images, auditory illusions
mislead the ears through sounds. These sounds are usually those that are not really present
in the physical stimulus, but is heard by the ears and perceived as a sound related to the
stimulus in the environment. There are also auditory illusions that come from "impossible
sounds", such as hearing a missing fundamental frequency, provided that there are other
portions of the harmonic series, and different psychoacoustic tricks of lossy audio
compression.

Tactile Illusion

While optical and auditory illusions are common manifestations of several

psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and psychosis, tactile illusion is experienced
by patients who have undergone amputation. The phantom limb is a tactile illusion wherein
the patient still 'feels' pain on the leg, arm, or digit that has already been removed.

Literature Review

According to Baroun, Khader , Al-Ansari & Bader conduct research in 2005 on

impact of anxiety and gender on perceiving the muller lyer illusion. In this study, 242
undergraduate students from Kuwait University (66 men and 176 women) were used as a
sample, and the Mueller-Lyer and Horizontal-Vertical illusion forms were used to examine
the association between anxiety, gender, and the Mueller-Lyer illusion perception. The
subjects were divided into 3 groups (high, middle and low anxiety) in accordance with their
anxiety scale scores. The results shows that there are some significant difference in
relationship between anxiety and the perception of illusion, with males exhibiting higher
scores for anxiety tending to have higher illusion error scores than males with low anxiety
scores. Females with higher anxiety scores also were found to have higher illusion error
scores than females with low anxiety scores but there had no significant correlation to the
Mueller-Lyer perception and Horizontal-Vertical illusion (Baroun et al., 2005)

The Müller-Lyer illusion, one of the most well-known illusions, is the subject of the
current experiment, which replicates it using imagery and real experience. With a mean age
of 20.34 years and a range of 18 to 26 years, 161 University of Vigo fine art undergraduates
freely participated in the study; 58 students were excluded since they were previously
familiar with Müller-Lyer figures. Over the course of three years, students in small groups
completed the Gordon Test as part of the study. After that, they were instructed to modify the
line so that it matched both the Müller-Lyer illusion's slider stimulus and standard stimulus.
Four experimental circumstances were used to evaluate the participants' performance; they
were not informed of their scores. After that, they were instructed to modify the line so that it
matched both the Müller-Lyer illusion's slider stimulus and standard stimulus. Four
experimental circumstances were used to evaluate the participants' performance; they were
not informed of their scores. The display of figures in hypothetical, real-world, and first-
presentation scenarios was counterbalanced in the study. Thus, for both the figures with 15
mm fins and the figures with 45 mm fins, the Müller-Lyer illusion is larger in the real
perception scenario than in the hypothetical scenario (Pérez-Fabello, María José, and Alfredo
Campos, 2023)

The study looked into how viewing Müller-Lyer figures in monocular and binocular
combinations affected how the figures were perceived and behaved. Fourteen volunteers,
seven males and seven females with a mean age of 26 years, between the ages of 21 and 41,
volunteered to participate in the current study. In the matching condition, participants had to
demonstrate, by measuring the distance between their finger and thumb, the perceived length
of the central shaft of one of the two Müller-Lyer forms. In the gripping task, participants had
to reach out and grasp the Müller-Lyer figure's middle shaft as swiftly and precisely as
possible. Initially, the illusion had a notable impact on the matching performance in both
viewing scenarios. Still, the illusion figures had no effect on the maximum grip aperture. In
the matching and gripping tasks, information regarding the inter-digital distance was obtained
by measuring the distance between the markers placed on the thumb and index finger. The
index finger-thumb three-dimensional distance in each frame for the matching task was
averaged throughout the three seconds of data collection for each trial, while the dependent
variable for the grasping task was the index finger-thumb three-dimensional distance
recorded at the maximum point of the grip aperture (Otto-de Haart et al, 2007)

By attaching arrows to a line's ends, the Müller-Lyer illusion can be used to modulate
perceived line length. In the present study, we investigated the dynamics of the brain
processes underlying this illusion using magneto encephalography. Subjects were presented
with a horizontal line with arrows attached to its ends. Subsequent neural activation was
observed in the right superior temporal cortex, as well as in the right inferior parietal and the
right inferior frontal cortex. The hypothesis of their research was accepted. (R. Weidner,
2009)

Methodology

Hypothesis: Participates will under-estimate the size of arrow headed figure and
feather headed arrow is over-estimated.

Independent Variable: Arrow headed Figure

Dependent Variable: Feather headed arrow

Sample/subject

 1 participant
 Age 22
 Semester 6th
 Instruments/Tools

A document on which Muller-lyer table was used cards, pen, paper, calculator

Procedure

The card is given to a participant and was said to adjust the card in such a way when
you feel that both arrows are equal. Firstly, the participant was said to move the dependent
arrow from inward to outward from the right hand in such a way when you feel that both
arrows are equal and then note the reading. Repeat this process 10 times. Then the participant
was said to move the dependent arrow from outward to inward from the right hand in such a
way when you feel that both arrows are equal and then write down that reading. Repeat this
process 10 times. Then the participant was said to move the dependent arrow from inward to
outward from the left hand in such a way when you feel that both arrows are equal and then
write down that reading. Repeat this process 10 times. Then the participant was said to move
the dependent arrow from outward to inward from the left hand in such a way when you feel
that both arrows are equal and then write down that reading. Repeat this process 10 times.
Note down all the reading.
Results

Point of Subjective Equality

Right Hand Outward to Inward Left Hand Outward to Inward

Inward to Outward Inward to Outward

45 31 37 37

31 46 38 51

31 43 43 40

32 45 46 45

20 41 44 42

21 44 42 44

22 44 41 40

27 43 41 40

27 46 40 40

27 43 41 44

Grand total =1499

Point of Subjective Equity = Grand total / No. of responses

= 1499/40

= 37.475

Magnitude of Illusion = 60 – Point of subjective equity

= 37.475-60

= -22.525
Discussion

The Müller-Lyer illusion is a classic psychological experiment that demonstrates the

power of perception and how our brain can be tricked into seeing things that are not actually
there. In 1889, German psychologist Franz Müller-Lyer discovered an optical illusion that
has since been widely used to study perception and cognitive biases. The card is given to a
participant and was said to adjust the card in such a way when you feel that both arrows are
equal. Firstly, the participant was said to move the dependent arrow from inward to outward
from the right hand in such a way when you feel that both arrows are equal and then note the
reading. Repeat this process 10 times. Our results are 22.525. According to participants our
hypothesis is accepted because Participates will under-estimate the size of arrow headed
figure and feather headed arrow is over-estimated.

Limitations

We face difficulties in it the test is too lengthy. Participant was bored during
administration. The researcher didn’t have much information about test. The major problem
we face we didn’t provides the cards we made the readings handmade on paper. So we may
have error in readings.

Recommendations

 Before administer the test the researcher will have full information of test.
 The researcher provided the cards to the participants
 Our participant was bored with the lengthy test so u can give break after 20 trails of
sometimes then do rest of the 20 trails.

References

Baroun, K. A., & Al-Ansari, B. M. (2005). The impact of anxiety and gender on perceiving
the behavior

Bermond, B., & Van Heerden, J. (1996). The Muller-Lyer illusion explained and its

imagery. Current Psychology, 42(33), 29316-29324.

Mueller-Lyer illusion. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 33(1), 33-
42.

Otto-de Haart, E. G., Carey, D. P., & Milne, A. B. (1999). More thoughts on perceiving and
grasping theMüller–Lyer illusion. Neuropsychologia, 37(13), 1437-1444.

Perception of the Müller–Lyer illusion in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Behavioural

Brain

Pérez-Fabello, M. J., & Campos, A. (2023). The Müller-Lyer illusion through mental

Research, 182(1), 67-72.

Reynolds, R. I. (1988). A psychological definition of illusion. Philosophical Psychology,

1(2), 217-223.

Suganuma, E., Pessoa, V. F., Monge-Fuentes, V., Castro, B. M., & Tavares, M. C. H. (2007).

theoretical importance reconsidered. Biology and Philosophy, 11(3), 321-338.