Are onscreen cursor movements influenced by the Ebbinghaus illusion? Exploring perception–action interaction in a virtual environment

The Two-Visual-Streams Hypothesis (TVSH) of vision proposes a functional separation between the perception of a visual stimulus and the control of visually guided action toward that stimulus. This study tested whether the separation of perception and action proposed by the TVSH is also demonstrated when executing visually guided cursor movements toward onscreen targets. Participants used a trackpad to click onscreen circular targets embedded within the Ebbinghaus (“Titchener Circles”) illusion and were thus perceived as either larger or smaller than their true size. Participants were more accurate when clicking on the perceived larger target compared to the perceived smaller target, indicating their performance was influenced by their perception of target size (Experiment 1). There was no effect of the illusion when visual feedback of the target was removed at the beginning of the trial (Experiment 2) or removed following a 2-second target-viewing period (Experiment 3). Conclusion: The perceptual features of an onscreen stimulus mediate the guidance of cursor movements toward visible targets. Illusion-based perceptions of target size do not affect actions toward disappeared targets, however. These results contribute to the theoretical principles of the TVSH by testing its predictions in a novel onscreen environment.