Visual binding in the standing wave illusion

When two video frames are alternated at the appropriate rate, one with a central bar and the other with two flanking bars, the central bar becomes invisible. Competing explanations for this standing wave illusion are examined, with the results showing an influence of higher level shape representations on lower level edge processes. In Experiment 1, flanking bar duration was found to be more important to masking than central bar duration. Experiment 2 showed strong nonlocal effects in that masking of the central bar depended critically on whether it appeared in the same video frame as other visible bars. Experiments 3 and 4 showed that the contour shared by bars in separate frames was a less important factor than shape and surface similarity. This illusion is therefore an excellent tool for studying recursive interactions between higher level object representations and lower level contour processes.