Cite as:
Papathomas T V, Kourtzi Z, Welchman A E, 2010, "Perspective-based illusory movement in a flat billboard—an explanation" Perception 39(8) 1086 – 1093
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Perspective-based illusory movement in a flat billboard—an explanation

Thomas V Papathomas, Zoe Kourtzi, Andrew E Welchman

Received 25 April 2008, in revised form 5 May 2010

Abstract. We describe a compelling motion illusion elicited by a huge billboard placed along a street, depicting a building that contains strong perspective cues. When observers move fast along the opposite sidewalk, they perceive the depicted building as rotating in their direction of travel. This is a special case of the ‘following’, or ‘pointing out of the picture’, illusion that elicits a strong illusory motion percept. Here we discuss the cause of the illusory motion and suggest that the brain relies on the depicted perspective cues to infer a 3-D shape and a concomitant motion that is incompatible with the physical pictorial surface.

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