What is the Müller-Lyer illusion and why does it occur?

  • Aug 05, 2022
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What is the Müller-Lyer illusion and why does it occur?

Reality is subject to the interpretation we make of it. This allows us to understand the different events that happen in the course of everyday life. In this sense, what may be brilliant for us may not be brilliant for another person, since there is no single truth about a situation. Optical illusions also have a clear relationship with this topic, since our interpretation can be modified according to the perception we have of an image.

There are many optical illusions in life, but there is one that arouses the curiosity of many people. In this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about What is the Müller-Lyer illusion and why does it occur?.

You may also like: Perceptive illusions: what they are, causes, types and examples

Index

  1. What is the Müller-Lyer Illusion
  2. Why does the Müller-Lyer Illusion occur?
  3. Influence of culture on the Müller-Lyer illusion

What is the Müller-Lyer Illusion.

The Müller-Lyer illusion, coming from geometry, is a type of optical illusion consisting of

the misperception of the length of an image with arrows. In other words, it is the optical illusion that occurs when observing two straight lines with arrows with different orientations. In one of the lines, the arrows point to the interior, while in the other the arrows go to the extremes of each side, as can be seen in the previous image.

Likewise, the most important fact of the Müller-Lyer illusion is that the line with arrows pointing towards the ends makes us believe that it is a longer line than the other. However, the reality is that, although they seem different, both lines measure the same.

Why does the Müller-Lyer Illusion occur?

The Müller-Lyer illusion consists occurs because of the perception we have of the phenomena that are presented to us. The function of vision acquires great relevance in this aspect, since there is a tendency to think that the same line can be longer or smaller depending on the direction taken by the arrows located in she.

When this happens, our brain focuses on the information given by the extremes of the same image. For this reason, it is possible for two lines of equal size to appear different in size depending on the direction the arrows point.

In this way, if the arrows point out, our brain will think that it is a larger line. On the contrary, when the arrows point towards the internal part, we will perceive a reduction in length.

What is the Müller-Lyer illusion and why does it occur - Why does the Müller-Lyer illusion occur

Influence of culture on the Müller-Lyer illusion.

As we have discussed before, the Müller-Lyer illusion focuses on optical illusions caused by straight figures. However, this illusion can be applied to various cultural settings in which this perception phenomenon.

In today's society, driven by capitalist customs based on consumerism, a series of inventions have been made to modify the formats of different objects with linear and rectangular shapes in which the Müller-Lyer illusion is presented. The objective of these modifications is that consumers think that they have acquired products with dimensions of different sizes, even though they have the same measurement or quantity of product.

On the other hand, it is worth highlighting two factors that affect the Müller-Lyer optical illusion:

The experiences

Our perception is not a phenomenon with which we are born, but is built over time from the personal experiences we have lived through over the years. For example, if a person has never been in contact with two objects with similar dimensions that have different endings, it is possible that he perceives them as if they were the same.

The sociohistorical moment

We cannot ignore the influence of sociocultural moment in which we live and the patterns of consumption caused by the boom of a period marked by the need to obtain objects that create the illusion of completeness and perfection.

In general, we live tormented by the idea that we always lack something to feel that we have achieved happiness. For this reason, the experts in the production of the material that is sold in supermarkets and department stores use this Müller-Lyer optical illusion to their advantage to create objects of equal size and termination different.

What is the Müller-Lyer illusion and why does it occur - Influence of culture on the Müller-Lyer illusion

Image: slideshare

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is the Müller-Lyer illusion and why does it occur?, we recommend that you enter our category of cognitive psychology.

Bibliography

  • Cubero, M. (2005). A cultural analysis of perceptual processes. Journal Yearbook of Psychology, 36 (3), 261-280.
  • Lazzari, L.L., Moulia, P.I., Gervasoni, A. (2016). Contributions of optical illusions to different fields of geometry. Cimbage Notebooks, 18 (1), 81-107.
  • Pacheco Unguetti, A. P., De Fockert, J. (2011). How real do we see the world? Cognitive Science Journal, 5 (3), 69-72.
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