Work

Reactions to Perceiving Tangible vs Virtual Impossible objects: Dimensions of Visual Reality

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: Considering the current plethora of 2D depictions via flat screens, we investigated whether our perception might have become more susceptible to this format or whether our perceptual system remained more captivated by tangible reality, i.e. 3D objects. To this end, we selected a set of impossible optical illusions that can be described as impossible objects and evaluated their impact on perceptual experience. Twenty-eight healthy volunteers were presented with 5 impossible objects in three ways: real wooden format, photographs or coloured drawings of these objects. They had to evaluate their reactions to each illusory stimulus separately in a random order. Then they were asked to rank the three presentations when presented simultaneously. We found that real objects presentation was more challenging than their 2D counterparts. Specifically real objects yield more surprise and impact on perception than their 2D image counterparts. Implications for naïve realism and social cognition are proposed.

Source: bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

DOI: 10.64898/2026.10.14.759059