AMODAL COMPLETION AS ANOTHER PERCEPTION OF COLOR-SPREADING STIMULI

We made a solid three-dimensional object of the Redies-Spillmann figur e and found two kinds of completely different phenomena. First, transp arent color-spreading was observed in the empty space around the objec t. Second, another perceptual organization occurred: observers perceiv ed a cross as a cross-shaped slit through which to see, and then they perceived spreading color disappear entirely. They reported an apparen t opaque occluding surface which was localized at the same depth as th e slit but was in fact the background. They also reported a colored ci rcle which was mostly occluded by the surface with a cross-shaped slit . We interpreted the circle as being amodally completed in the sense d escribed by Kanizsa in 1955. Even when the figure was drawn on a piece of paper, we observed these two perceptions. We examined whether othe r stimuli causing neon color-spreading lead to reports of the percepti on for the Redies-Spillmann figure and found that all the stimuli we e xamined led to reports of the same kind of perception. Interestingly, the shape of color-spreading was the same as that of the amodal comple tion.