From the Rorschach inkblots[1] to the famous ‘duck–rabbit[2]‘, scientists use an arsenal of so–called ambiguous images to help probe the human mind.
Now, researchers have revealed four new pictures which could reveal the inner workings of your perception.
The team from Johns Hopkins University used AI to create ‘visual anagrams’.
Each picture contains two animals, but scientists say you don’t have a choice over which animal you can see.
Just like an anagram spells a different word when the letters are rearranged, these visual anagrams have been designed to show a different image when rotated.
For example, one visual anagram shows a bear when shown in one orientation and a butterfly when rotated 90 degrees.
Lead author Tal Boger, a PhD student studying perception, told Daily Mail: ‘Something special about visual anagrams is that you actually don’t get much of a chance to see them one way first.
‘They let us take the exact same image and make you see it in a different way.’
What animal do you see, a bear or a butterfly? Scientists have created images that contain two different animals. Which animal you see could reveal the inner workings of your perception
Although it might seem simple, human perception isn’t anywhere near as straightforward as the way a camera captures images of the world.
Messy, chaotic information from our eyes is transformed into data that the brain can make sense of through a process involving dozens of alterations, assumptions, and omissions.
That means our perceptions of objects out in the world are influenced by many more factors than simply what we are seeing.
This is a big problem for scientists trying to study perception, since it’s very hard to know which aspect of a picture is having the biggest effect.
Dr Chaz Firestone, head of Johns Hopkins University’s Perception & Mind Lab, says: ‘Let’s say we want to know how the brain responds to the size of an object.
‘Past research shows that big things get processed in a different brain region than small things.
‘But if we show people two objects that differ in how big they are—say, a butterfly and a bear—those objects are also going to differ in lots of other ways: their shape, their texture, how bright or colourful they are, and so on.’
The visual anagrams solve this problem because they allow for different perceptual effects to be isolated.
The researchers call these images a ‘visual anagram’ because they can be rearranged to show one thing or another. One way up, this image shows a mouse (left), but the other way up, it shows a cow (right)
Even though the image shows a bear when held one way and a butterfly when held another, it is made of the exact same pixels in both cases.
By studying which animals people see and how they respond to those images, scientists can help understand the secrets of perception.
Alongside creating the visual anagrams, the researchers also conducted some initial experiments to test classic perceptual effects.
Scientists have known for years that people find objects more aesthetically pleasing when they are shown in a way that matches their real–world size.
For example, people prefer pictures of bears to be larger than pictures of butterflies.
The researchers used their visual anagrams to see if this effect would still be true.
They discovered that when subjects adjusted the bear image to be its ideal size, they made it bigger than when they adjusted the butterfly image to be its ideal size.
This was the case despite the fact that the bears and butterflies were just the same image rotated 90 degrees – proving that real–world size was the key factor.
This image shows both a horse and a duck, but which one you see is determined by which way up it is shown. Researchers want to do this so that they can isolate different effects on your perception
Researchers can use these images to investigate the effects of real–world size on perception. The same set of pixels can both appear to be a very small elephant or a very large rabbit, allowing researchers to isolate the effects of size
In the future, the researchers think that visual anagrams could be used to study many more aspects of perception.
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For example, an anagram could be used to test differences in perception for animate and inanimate objects.
Mr Boger says: ‘When we see something that is alive, our minds tend to latch onto it – think of the difference between seeing the face of a tiger vs some rock lying on the ground.
‘But like real–world size, two objects that differ in animacy also differ in features like shape.
‘So, we’ve started to make anagrams that depict an animate object in one orientation and an inanimate object when rotated to get around this issue.’
WHAT ARE RORSCHACH INKBLOTS AND WHAT DO THEY SHOW?[3]
The inkblot tests for psychological assessment were introduced by Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss Freudian psychiatrist.
Since their introduction, there have been up to 300 differently perceived images for each of the 10 blots which are used as a test to work out a person’s mental health or creativity.
The psychiatrist poured different amounts and kinds of ink onto the cards and folded and pressed them to create symmetrical patterns.
But, researchers in recent decades have debated whether these are truly telling of a person’s mental health or creativity.
In the past 20 years, psychologists have mostly stopped using them to assess patients.
The inkblot test:
Plate 1: People commonly see a bat, butterfly, moth or female figure in the centre
Plate 2 : People often see sexual imagery, such as a male sex organ at the top or a vagina in the centre
Plate 3 : People may see male sex organs or female breasts in this inkblot
Plate 1: People commonly see a bat, butterfly, moth or female figure in the centre.
If you see a mask or animal face that might suggest you are a little paranoid.
A bad answer is anything insulting about the female figure as it is an indicator of how you feel about your own body image.
How fast you answer indicates how well you cope with new situations.
People should see this image as two human-like forms and if you don’t that might suggest you find it hard to relate to people.
Other common answers include butterflies or a cave entrance.
Plate 3: People may see male sex organs or female breasts in this inkblot.
Heterosexual people generally see two male figures whereas homosexual people generally see two androgynous or female figures.
This blot is generally seen as one of the harder ones to interpret.
The splotches of red ink are often seen as bow-ties, ribbons or stomachs.
Plate 4 : The two lower corners are often described as shoes or boots
Plate 4: The two lower corners are often described as shoes or boots. It is also often seen as seeing someone from below, or a male with a large penis.
Most people settle on seeing it as a figure from below and experts say your description of this figure shows how you think about your father or male figures of authority. For that reason, it is seen as a ‘bad’ answer if someone sees the figure as menacing.
Other common descriptions include a bear or gorilla. Some people may see a vagina in the top part of the blot.
Plate 5 : Lots of people see this as male sex organs at the top of the drawing
Plate 6: Some people see this as the male sex organ (at the top) or a female sex organ (middle and bottom)
Plate 7 : This image is very often seen as two girls or one woman. Others see it as the female sex organs
Plate 5: Lots of people see male sex organs at the top of the drawing.
Other common answers include a bat or a butterfly. However, seeing the butterfly antennae as scissors is an indication of a castration complex.
Schizophrenics often see moving people in this image.
Seeing crocodile heads at the ends of the bat’s wings suggest you are feeling hostile.
Plate 6: Some people see this as the male sex organ (at the top) or a female sex organ (middle and bottom).
Common answers include an animal hide, a boat, submarine and men with long noses and goatees.
It is also described as a view of a man with their arms outstretched.
Experts say it reveals subconscious attitudes about sexuality.
Plate 7: This image is very often seen as two girls or one woman. Others see it as female sex organs.
A ‘bad’ answer would be to say it looks like two figures gossiping or fighting. Experts say this blot reveals how you feel about your mother.
The rough ‘V’ shape is also seen as two faces looking at each other or ‘bunny ears’.
If you see thunderclouds psychologists say you might have anxiety.
Schizophrenics usually see an oil lamp in the white space in the middle.
Plate 8 : Some people see female sexual organs at the bottom of this card
Plate 8: Some people see female sexual organs at the bottom of this image.
Common answers also include four legged animals such as lions and bears on either side, or a tree, rib cage or butterfly in the middle.
Experts say that people who do not see four-legged animals might be ‘mentally defective’.
Children are said to particularly like this blot as it has lots of bright colours.
Plate 9 : This one is said to be harder to interpret and many people struggle to ‘see’ anything
Plate 10: Most people see sea life, or think they are looking at something through a microsope
Plate 9: This one is said to be harder to interpret and many people struggle to ‘see’ anything.
Many people see fire, smoke, an explosion or a flower.
Some people also see female sex organs at the bottom.
People who see a mushroom cloud on top might have paranoia and people who see monsters or men fighting might have poor social development.
Plate 10: Most people see sea life, or think they are looking at something through a microscope.
Other common images are spiders, crabs and caterpillars.
If people see two faces blowing bubbles or smoking a pipe, it could suggest they have oral fixation (the desire to be eating, smoking, nail-biting or thumb-sucking).
Seeing animals eating a stick or tree could suggest castration anxiety.
Source: Psychwatch[4]
References
- ^ Rorschach inkblots (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ duck–rabbit (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ WHAT ARE RORSCHACH INKBLOTS AND WHAT DO THEY SHOW? (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Psychwatch (psychwatch.blogspot.com)