TY - JOUR TI - Combination of accretion/deletion of texture and occluding contour geometry in determining relative depth DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3ZP4972 PY - 2017 AB - Traditionally, accretion/deletion of texture is considered as a definite cue to ground status. However, accretion/deletion can also arise from self-occlusion due to rotation in depth. When accretion/deletion is interpreted as such, the depth-order switches and the accreting/deleting region is interpreted as being in front rather than behind the adjoining surface. This alternative interpretation of accretion/deletion has been excluded from or ignored in traditional accounts of accretion/deletion. In three studies, we investigated the factors that are crucial for the interpretation of accretion/deletion, and how this influences relative depth judgments. Recent studies (Froyen, Feldman, & Singh, 2013; Tanrikulu, Froyen, Feldman, & Singh, 2016) showed that the geometry of the border influences how accretion/deletion is interpreted. In Study 1, we systematically investigated how these two factors combine to determine relative depth by manipulating the strength of accretion/deletion and a geometric cue to figure/ground (i.e. convexity), and then combining them in various conditions. In Study 2, we investigated which stimulus factors are critical in promoting the rotating-in-front interpretation of accretion/deletion by comparing the stimuli used in recent studies versus those used in traditional studies of accretion/deletion. In the last study, we examined the influence of the speed profile of the accreting/deleting texture on the interpretation of accretion/deletion, and also examined its interaction with the shape of its border. Overall, our results indicate that accretion/deletion should not simply be considered a “cue to ground status” because it can be interpreted as a surface either in front or behind, depending on the geometry of the occluding contour and the motion profile of the texture. Indeed, we consistently found that static contour geometry can have a greater influence on depth percepts than the motion-based cue of accretion/deletion. This calls for newer accounts to include the geometry of the borders in their models of depth from motion. KW - Psychology LA - eng ER -