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Studies have shown that blur can act as a pictorial cue to depth perception. But blurring a stimulus reduces its contrast, and studies have also shown that contrast can act as a pictorial cue to depth perception. To determine whether blur and contrast have separate influences on depth perception, we independently manipulated each variable in two experiments. Observers reported depth alternations in a simple reversible figure. We found that contrast and blur both influenced depth perception, but that blur had its greatest effect at moderate contrasts. When we equated blurred and sharp stimuli on either Michelson or RMS contrast, blur continued to affect depth perception. We conclude that blur can act as a depth cue independently of contrast. We speculate that blur is effective as a pictorial cue because of its usual association with other depth cues, particularly in pictures and photographs.
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