Role of the cognitive influence of familiarity in processing kinetic-depth-effect signals

We present two methods for investigating the role of familiarity in processing kinetic-depth-effect signals produced by rotating concave objects. Motion-parallax signals recover the true three-dimensional shape of concave objects and they compete against the bias to perceive objects as convex, rather than concave. We test the hypothesis that the cognitive influence of object familiarity favors the bias for convexity, thus strengthening the illusion of convexity for familiar objects. Data with physical and virtual objects obtained with healthy controls confirm this trend and provide a baseline for comparison with schizophrenia patients.