Abstract
A total of 110 undergraduate students participated in a series of three experiments that explored the magnitude of the moon illusion in pictures. Experiment 1 examined the role of the number and salience of depth cues and background brightness. Experiment 2 examined the role of the horizon line, linear perspective, interposition, and background brightness. In Experiment 3, comparative distance judgments of the moon as a function of linear perspective, interposition, and the size of the standard moon were obtained. The magnitude of the moon illusion increased as a function of the number and salience of depth cues and changes in background brightness. Experiment 2 failed to support the role of the horizon line in affecting the illusion. Experiment 3 provided additional support for the illusory distance component of the moon illusion.
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Note—Accepted by the previous editorial team, when Thomas H. Carr was Editor.
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Jones, S.A.H., Wilson, A.E. The horizon line, linear perspective, interposition, and background brightness as determinants of the magnitude of the pictorial moon illusion. Perception, & Psychophysics 71, 131–142 (2009). https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.71.1.131
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.71.1.131