What is the Meaning of Shape? - Gestalt Theory

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GESTALT THEORY, Vol. 33, No.3/4 of one or of the other property is influenced by the vertical/horizontal and gravitational axis that plays by accentuating the sidedness against the pointedness in the square and, vice versa, the pointedness against the sidedness in the diamond. On the basis of these properties, it appears clear why the second order variations of Fig. 3 are not involved in the square/diamond illusions. In fact, in all the conditions illustrated sidedness and pointedness are not in contrast but either the sidedness or the pointedness are attenuated or emphasized, thus weakening only one of the two effects. This entails that one of the two singularities is weakened, therefore appearing as a rotation of the other. The two properties can also account for the reason why we perceive a rotated square in Fig. 2b. This is due to the strength of the sidedness being higher than the one of the pointedness. Similarly, the numerosity illusion of Fig. 5 can be considered as related to the shape attribute that defines the number of elements in the octagon. We suggest that this figure, similarly to the other polygons, is mostly defined by the sidedness and thus by the number of sides. More specifically, to answer a question like “what polygon is this?” spontaneously we count at a glance the number of sides but not the number of vertices. The importance of the two properties in defining the shape appears in fact asymmetrical. Therefore, because in the pointed octagon of Fig. 5 the sidedness is weakened while the vertices are perceived with a stronger vividness, the numerosity of the sides is determined taking into account or starting from the angles or vertices, which induce an increasing of number of sides or a summation effect due to the numerosity fuzziness of the sides together with the angles. The calculation at a glance of the number of sides can include also some vertices that pop out more strongly than the sides. These phenomenal reports suggest that, all else being equal, the perceived shape can change or switch from one shape to another by accentuating the sidedness or the pointedness independently from the vertical/horizontal and gravitational axes. A demonstration of this expectation is illustrated in Fig. 6, where, despite the configural orientation effects (i.e. the perception of local spatial orientation determined by the global spatial orientational structure) studied by Attneave (1968) and Palmer (1980), rows of figures are perceived as rotated squares or as diamonds according to the position of the small circle placed near the sides or near the angles of the figures (see also Pinna, 2010a, 2010b; Pinna & Albertazzi, 2011). While in Figs. 6a and 6c, the geometrical diamonds are phenomenally perceived as rotated squares, in Figs. 6b and 6d, the geometrical diamonds are perceived more strongly than in the control (Fig. 6e) as diamonds. 396
# 2 0 1 ( Fig. 6 Rotated squares or diamonds? 397 Pinna, What is the Meaning of Shape? 5.2. On the Difference between a Square and a Rotated Square It is worthwhile clarifying that a diamond and a square rotated by 45 deg as shown in Fig. 6 are different shapes, not only because they have two different names, but, mostly, because they show opposite phenomenal properties: pointedness in the diamonds and sidedness in the rotated squares. This shape switch is not a minor difference but a variation of the perceptual meaning of shape (see Pinna, 2010b). Pointedness and sidedness are like the underlying shapes of the shape, a second level shape (meta-shape), i.e. the meanings of the perceived shapes, and, more !"#$%&'()''!"#$%#&'(#$$" !"#$%&'%$"(%)(#*&*+%,-%'"#.(/
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What is the Meaning of Shape? - Gestalt Theory

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