Sammenhengen Mellom Svevende Objekter og Illusjonen Om Tomt Rom: Det Forunderlige Tilfellet av Amodalt Fravær

The aim of this study was to explore a phenomenon that has not been previously explored within the field of psychology, called amodal absence. Amodal absence refers to the process where the visual system fills in the area behind an object in the foreground of the visual field, resulting in an impression of nothingness behind the occluding object. The proposed mechanism for this is that the visual system excludes objects it deems unlikely would be completely hidden behind the occluding object. The phenomenon was explored using a pen resting on a pedestal, and different occluding screens used to hide the pedestal, but not the pen, from view. Amodal absence was measured by asking participants to rate the strength of their impression of the pen floating unsupported in midair. An impression of floating was taken as a sign of amodal completion by making it seem like there was nothing behind the screen supporting the pen. Our theory predicted a stronger impression of floating for a narrower occluding screen based on the generic view principle. The results showed a significantly stronger rating for floating impression when the pedestal was hidden from view as opposed to when it was not. There were mixed results for the effects of the narrower screen versus wider screen and so no conclusion was made regarding this hypothesis.