Orbison illusion explained

The Orbison illusion (or Orbison's illusion) is an optical illusion first described by American psychologist William Orbison (1912 - 1952)^[1] in 1939.

The illusion consists of a two dimensional figure, such as a circle or square, superimposed over a background of radial lines or concentric circles. The result is an optical illusion in which both the figure and the rectangle which contains it appear distorted; in particular, squares appear slightly bulged, circles appear elliptical, and the containing rectangle appears tilted.^[2]

References

• Book: Fineman, Mark. The Nature of Visual Illusion. Dover Publications. 152-153. 1996. 0486291057.
• Book: Robinson, J.O.. The Psychology of Visual Illusion. Dover Publications. 72–73. 1998. 978-0486404493.

Notes and References

1. Book: Roeckelein, Jon E.. 2006. Elsevier's Dictionary of Psychological Theories. Amsterdam. Elsevier. 651. 9780444517500.
2. Web site: Orbison illusion. opticalillusions.info. June 30, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161007173234/http://www.optical-illusions.info/illusions/Orbison_illusion.htm. October 7, 2016. dead.