Ambiguous figures (or
reversible figures) are
thought to constitute an intriguing type of stimuli that provides useful
insights into understanding the critical mechanisms underlying visual
perception .
They possess the unique ability to produce a phenomenon known as multistable perception (to switch
between two or more interpretations whilst simultaneously remaining static). It is
possible that the mechanisms underlying the reversibility of ambiguous figures
explain the normal functioning of our visual system.
Reversible figures have
been the topic of considerable interest to theorists and researchers over the
past seventy five years . Until today, research concerned with the
underlying causal explanations for the reversal of ambiguous figures has
produced ambiguous results. Therefore,
it has been difficult to decide whether the perceptual alternations inherent in
the reversible phenomenon are ‘stimuli’
or ‘conceptually’ driven, or even
socially constructed