An analysis of binocular slant contrast

Abstract

When a small frontoparallel surface (a test strip) is surrounded by a larger slanted surface (an inducer), the test strip is perceived as slanted in the direction opposite to the inducer. This has been called the depth-contrast effect, but we call it the slant-contrast effect. In nearly all demonstrations of this effect, the inducer’s slant is specified by stereoscopic signals, and other signals, such as the texture gradient, specify that it is frontoparallel. We present a theory of slant estimation that determines surface slant via linear combination of various slant estimators; the weight of each estimator is proportional to its reliability. The theory explains slant contrast because the absolute slant of the inducer and the relative slant between test strip and inducer are both estimated with greater reliability than the absolute slant of the test strip. The theory predicts that slant contrast will be eliminated if the signals specifying the inducer’s slant are consistent with one another. It also predicts reversed slant contrast if the inducer’s slant is specified by nonstereoscopic signals rather than by stereo signals. These predictions were tested and confirmed in three experiments. The first showed that slant contrast is greatly reduced when the stereo- and nonstereo-specified slants of the inducer are made consistent with one another. The second showed that slant contrast is eliminated altogether when the stimulus consists of real planes rather than images on a display screen. The third showed that slant contrast is reversed when the nonstereo-specified slant of the inducer varies and the stereo-specified slant is zero. We conclude that slant contrast is a byproduct of the visual system’s reconciliation of conflicting information while it attempts to determine surface slant.