{"branchingScenario":{"content":[{"type":{"library":"H5P.Image 1.1","params":{"contentName":"Image","alt":"White vase-shape in center and the rest of the image is black","title":"Do you see the vase in this image?","file":{"path":"images\/file-60ff04391b811.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":1995,"height":1408}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Image","license":"CC BY-SA","title":"two sillhouette profiless or a white vase","authors":[{"name":"Brocken Inaglory","role":"Author"}],"licenseVersion":"3.0","yearFrom":2009,"yearTo":2009,"source":"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Two_silhouette_profile_or_a_white_vase.jpg"},"subContentId":"7ce08517-e23a-433c-a5ca-e65174226702"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"useBehavioural","nextContentId":1},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":2,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":""},"text":"Yes, I see the vase."},{"nextContentId":3,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":""},"text":"No, I do not see the vase."}],"question":"

What do you see in the image? Do you see the vase (click the back button to look at the image again)? (Answer honestly! Because this is an optical illusion, each answer will show as correct, but read the feedback to learn more.)<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"b9f18cb0-8b36-486c-8d85-22b517797577"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"enabled"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":5,"feedback":{"title":"

Great! What else do you see? Most often, people see the silhouettes of two people looking at each other. Which image did you see first? How did being asked to see the vase influence how you saw the image?<\/p>\n","subtitle":"","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff04588d904.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":1995,"height":1408}},"text":"Yes, I see something besides the vase."},{"nextContentId":5,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

Change your focus from the white center of the image (the vase), to the black part of the image. What do you see? Most often, people see the sillohetes of two people looking at each other. How did being asked to see the vase influence how you saw the image?<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff046639c85.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":1995,"height":1408}},"text":"No, I do not see anything besides the vase."}],"question":"

Did you see anything besides the vase?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"02870b4c-ce1c-4d4f-9d9f-a62427c6427a"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"enabled"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":5,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

What else did you see? Most often when we focus our attention on the black part of the image, people see the silhouettes of two people looking at each other. Remove your focus from the black part of the image and now look at the white part of the image. Now do you see the vase?<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff047b39682.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":1995,"height":1408}},"text":"Yes, I saw something else in the image."},{"nextContentId":0,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

Focus your attention on either the black part of the image or the white part of the image. When you focus on the white part, do you see the vase? Most often, when people focus on the black part of the image, they see the silhouettes of two people looking at each other. This, though, is an optical illusion- you might see something completely different. Try again!<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff0485507a6.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":1995,"height":1408}},"text":"No, I do not see anything in the image."}],"question":"

Did you see anything else in the image?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"cedc7880-bd01-464f-a237-f6f5af21f155"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"enabled"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":6,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":""},"text":"Yes, I saw the pillars"},{"nextContentId":9,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":""},"text":"No, I did not see the pillars."}],"question":"

Did you see the pillars (some think that they look like chess pieces) in the image? (press the back button to look at it again)<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Second Optical Illusion"},"subContentId":"031c6aa6-fede-448d-a6d8-bfbef998f9a4"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"enabled"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.Image 1.1","params":{"contentName":"Image","alt":"Black pillars or light-colored silhouettes of people.","title":"Do you see the pillars in this image?","file":{"path":"images\/file-60ff049b3f703.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":3101,"height":1905}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Image","license":"CC BY-SA","title":"A picture of an optical illusion. Taken at the Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg..JPG","authors":[{"name":"Diarb2008","role":"Author"}],"source":"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_picture_of_an_optical_illusion._Taken_at_the_Phaeno_Science_Center_in_Wolfsburg..JPG","licenseVersion":"3.0","yearFrom":2012},"subContentId":"3691f98f-72f9-45e8-9d2a-132a78f8b03c"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"title":"

Let's take a look at our second illusion.<\/p>\n","subtitle":"

Take a moment to study it; do you see the pillars in the image?<\/p>\n"},"contentBehaviour":"useBehavioural","nextContentId":4},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":7,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":""},"text":"Black"},{"nextContentId":5,"feedback":{"title":"

The pillars are black. Let's try again!<\/p>\n","subtitle":"","image":{"path":"images\/image-60f988155a3a1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":3101,"height":1905}},"text":"Tan, beige, or grey (depending on your screen)"}],"question":"

Which color are the pillars?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"59916f3f-5b39-403d-9d0a-9488b77e2120"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"useBehavioural"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":8,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

What else do you see? When you focus on the light part of the image, what do you see? Most often, people see the silhouettes of several people (one between each pair of pillars) facing the sides, with their heads down slightly. This, though, is an optical illusion- you might see something completely different.<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff04e2b22b0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":3101,"height":1905}},"text":"Yes, I saw something else."},{"nextContentId":8,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

Change your focus from the black parts of the image (the pillars), to the tan\/beige\/gray part of the image. What do you see? Most often, people see the silhouettes of several people (one between each pair of pillars) facing the sides, with their heads down slightly. This, though, is an optical illusion- you might see something completely different.<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60f98de9ce79f.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":3101,"height":1905}},"text":"No, I did not see anything else."}],"question":"

Great (just checking that you saw them!). Did you see anything else in the image?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"f332a880-b748-427e-8061-bceeb864b2b2"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"enabled"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":10,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

How did your observations vary between the two images? Did you spend longer looking at the second image (the one you had not seen before) than the first one? Think again about confirmation bias. Your mind ikely made a quick decision on the first one- even if you had only seen similar images but not the same one before. Whereas, the second one was new, likely taking longer to process what you see. Everyone's experience, though is different!<\/p>\n"},"text":"Yes, I have seen one like the first one (with the vases), but not like the second one (with the pillars)."},{"nextContentId":10,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

How do you think your observations would have differed if you had seen one but not the other one before? When something is new and we have no prior knowledge to help us understand it, then confirmation bias cannot help us make quick decisions and we likely spend more time looking at it and considering what is happening. It is still important to note that everyone's experience, though is different!<\/p>\n"},"text":"No, I have seen both of them before (or similar images)."},{"nextContentId":10,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

How do you think your observations would have differed if you had seen one but not the other one before? When something is new and we have no prior knowledge to help us understand it, then confirmation bias cannot help us make quick decisions and we likely spend more time looking at it and considering what is happening. It is still important to note that everyone's experience, though is different!<\/p>\n"},"text":"No, I have not seen either one of these before (or saw them before but did not see both parts of each image)."}],"question":"

The first optical illusion is fairly common, and you may have already seen it before; whereas, the second one is less common and most have not seen it before. Is this your case?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"5208df18-75d1-44c4-91fb-3d4890780bcf"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"enabled"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":8,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

What else did you see? Most often when we focus our attention on the tan\/beige\/grey part of the image, people see the silhouettes of people facing the side. Remove your focus from the light part of the image and now look at the black part of the image. Now do you see the pillars?<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff0507521af.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":3101,"height":1905}},"text":"Yes, I saw something else in the image."},{"nextContentId":5,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

Focus your attention on either the black part of the image or the tan\/beige\/grey part of the image. When you focus on the black part, do you see the pillars? When you focus on the light part of the image, people see the silhouettes of several people (one between each pair of pillars) facing the side. This, though, is an optical illusion- you might see something completely different. Try again!<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff04f8a6fda.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":3101,"height":1905}},"text":"No, I did not see anything else in the image."}],"question":"

Did you see anything else in the image?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"069ffd92-0fd4-41af-9f7f-a4fed5814f5a"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"useBehavioural"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":11,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

This is another great example of confirmation bias! By being told what to look for, we often look for that it. This can be an issue with inferring the meaning of data that we collect. We often try to make things fit into current theories and even often look for what we predicted to happen. This is why it is important to complete steps toward mitigating (i.e., reducing) the effect of bias (keep reading this chapter after completing this exercise to learn more).<\/p>\n"},"text":"Yes, I looked for what it had asked rather than just examining the image for anything."},{"nextContentId":11,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

People are often influenced by information that they are given, but everyone is different (perhaps you were already expecting it so you chose to spend even longer on the image). As many people do look for the information that they are given (even if it is subconcious), this is another great example of confirmation bias! By being told what to look for, we often look for that it. This can be an issue with inferring the meaning of data that we collect. We often try to make things fit into current theories and even often look for what we predicted to happen. This is why it is important to complete steps toward mitigating (i.e., reducing) the effect of bias (keep reading this chapter after completing this exercise to learn more).<\/p>\n"},"text":"No, it did not influence how I looked at the image."}],"question":"

For the last two optical illusions, the initial questions did not just ask what you saw but if you saw something specific (i.e., a vase or pillars). Did this influence how you looked at the image?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"aa50972b-79b6-46fe-817f-b94dc14370f2"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"useBehavioural"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.Image 1.1","params":{"contentName":"Image","alt":"Elephant with extra lines between their feet.","title":"Let's try another one for fun! Anything peculiar with this image of an elephant?","file":{"path":"images\/file-60ff0552748fa.png","mime":"image\/png","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":492,"height":342}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Image","license":"PD","title":"Elephant legs illusion, variant of Roger Shepard's L'egsistential paradox.png","authors":[{"name":"This drawing is a variant on Roger Shepard's "L'egsistential paradox," but Parade identifies this version as "public domain"","role":"Author"}],"source":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Elephant_legs_illusion,_variant_of_Roger_Shepard%27s_L%27egsistential_paradox.png","yearFrom":2016},"subContentId":"5408bd99-9c11-47c2-8ee4-3e44ed221f8e"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"useBehavioural","nextContentId":12},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":13,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

If so, it's likely that there looks like there are too many legs on this elephant! Looking at the feet, this image contains some extra connecting lines, making it look like the gap between the legs are the legs themselves!<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff05680037e.png","mime":"image\/png","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":492,"height":342}},"text":"Yes!"},{"nextContentId":11,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

Look at the feet. Do you see anything weird now? <\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff05728e52c.png","mime":"image\/png","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":492,"height":342}},"text":"No, I don't see anything."}],"question":"

Let's try another one for fun! Anything peculiar with this image of an elephant?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"56ea262e-a5e4-4113-8457-517adcf9e82f"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"enabled"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.Image 1.1","params":{"contentName":"Image","alt":"A mostly white image with grey along the left and top of the image. It is an image of a cow.","title":"What do you see in this image?!","file":{"path":"images\/file-60ff05898c1c7.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":375,"height":220}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Image","license":"CC BY-SA","title":"Cow Illusion.jpg","authors":[{"name":"John McCrone","role":"Author"}],"source":"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Cow_Illusion.jpg","licenseVersion":"3.0","yearFrom":1990},"subContentId":"4734af90-d423-4aa5-822f-7afff32940e4"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"useBehavioural","nextContentId":14},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":15,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

What do you see? This image is based on a real photograph of a cow, but people see all sorts of things in it (just check out this blog<\/a>!). If you do not see the cow, here are some tips: Most of the body is white; the cow is looking at you, with it's head on the left side of the image. The ears are completely black (look for the two black ovals), part of the grey shading is a shadow on the cow's face, and the muzzle is dark.<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff059d7e717.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":375,"height":220}},"text":"Yes, I see something in the image!"},{"nextContentId":15,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

No worries if you do not see anything, as many people have no idea (just check out this blog<\/a>!)! This image is based on a real photograph of a cow, but people see all sorts of things in it. If you still do not see the cow, here are some tips: Most of the body is white; the cow is looking at you, with it's head on the left side of the image. The ears are completely black (look for the two black ovals), part of the grey shading is a shadow on the cow's face, and the muzzle is dark.<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff05a6b98ec.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":375,"height":220}},"text":"No, I have no idea what is going on in this image!"}],"question":"

This one is typically pretty tough! Do you see anything in the image?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"4d844100-2207-4c2f-92b0-c4afc666a31d"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"enabled"},{"type":{"library":"H5P.Image 1.1","params":{"contentName":"Image","alt":"The black silhouette of a dancer's legs, hips, and one of the arms as the dancer prepares to turn.","title":"One last image! This is a black silhouette of a dancer. Which direction (left or right) is this dancer about to turn?","file":{"path":"images\/file-60ff05b585c1f.png","mime":"image\/png","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":402,"height":292}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Image","license":"CC BY-SA","title":"SpinningDancer WhiteLine.png","authors":[{"name":"Nobuyuki Kayahara","role":"Author"}],"licenseVersion":"3.0","yearFrom":2010,"source":"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:SpinningDancer_WhiteLine.png"},"subContentId":"24cf6fde-5562-4451-b2e2-a05d53553aa4"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"useBehavioural","nextContentId":16},{"type":{"library":"H5P.BranchingQuestion 1.0","params":{"branchingQuestion":{"alternatives":[{"nextContentId":-1,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

This is a difficult optical illusion with no clear answer, mostly because it is missing visual cues (such as the direction of the other arm)! It can also depend on a person's prior knowledge on dancing (back to confirmation bias)- dancers often prep facing one direction and then spend the other (to increase momentum on the turn). Sorry to end on one with an unknown answer, but that is part of the fun in science- there is no absolute \"truth.\" Rather, we support our conclusions with evidence (in this case our observations of the image). Can you find evidence for both possible answers?! If so, then we are also modeling scientific controversies with this last image!<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff05ca7f830.png","mime":"image\/png","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":402,"height":292}},"text":"Clockwise"},{"nextContentId":-1,"feedback":{"title":"","subtitle":"

This is a difficult optical illusion with no clear answer, mostly because it is missing visual cues (such as the direction of the other arm)! It can also depend on a person's prior knowledge on dancing (back to confirmation bias)- dancers often prep facing one direction and then spend the other (to increase momentum on the turn). Sorry to end on one with an unknown answer, but that is part of the fun in science- there is no absolute \"truth.\" Rather, we support our conclusions with evidence (in this case our observations of the image). Can you find evidence for both possible answers?! If so, then we are also modeling scientific controversies with this last image!<\/p>\n","image":{"path":"images\/image-60ff05c518ece.png","mime":"image\/png","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":402,"height":292}},"text":"Counterclockwise"}],"question":"

One last image! This is a black silhouette of a dancer. Which direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) is this dancer about to turn?<\/p>\n"}},"metadata":{"contentType":"Branching Question","license":"U","title":"Untitled Branching Question"},"subContentId":"1b8bdd51-ae1c-4848-ba90-5cbaebbbd4e9"},"showContentTitle":false,"forceContentFinished":"useBehavioural","feedback":{"subtitle":""},"contentBehaviour":"useBehavioural"}],"endScreens":[{"endScreenTitle":"","endScreenSubtitle":"","contentId":-1,"endScreenScore":0}],"scoringOptionGroup":{"scoringOption":"no-score","includeInteractionsScores":true},"startScreen":{"startScreenTitle":"

Optical Illusions<\/p>\n","startScreenSubtitle":"","startScreenImage":{"path":"images\/startScreenImage-60ff041c4a558.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":1995,"height":1408}},"behaviour":{"enableBackwardsNavigation":false,"forceContentFinished":false},"l10n":{"startScreenButtonText":"Start the course","endScreenButtonText":"Restart the course","backButtonText":"Back","disableProceedButtonText":"Require to complete the current module","replayButtonText":"Replay the video","scoreText":"Your score:","fullscreenAria":"Fullscreen"}}}

Scientific Controversies: Optical Illusions

Kimberlee Carter