ames room

Depth Illusions: The Ames Room

Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London

this webpage is under construction

Size illusion 2 : Ames Room

In the Ames Room, even the size of a familiar object/person is perceived largely distorted, because the misleading geometry generates a incorrect frame of reference

top view of room geometry

the size illusion in the Ames Room is a case in point for constructivist theories of perception: the knowledge of the rules of perspective and the assumption of rectangular architecture force the visual system to construct the apparent size difference (unconscious inferences)

(however: why not using knowledge about body size to construct veridical geometry?)

you can download an activity sheet to build your own Ames Room by clicking here

back to main illusions page
last update 06/03/2003
created by Johannes M. Zanker (j.zanker@rhul.ac.uk)

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	In the Ames Room, even the size of a familiar object/person is perceived largely distorted, because the misleading geometry generates a incorrect frame of reference
	top view of room geometry