What are illusions and what are their causes. Illusion of perception in human psychology
- Do you see the gopher?
- No!
“And I don’t see it, but it’s there!”
(c) dialogue from the movie "DMB"
Let's talk about illusions today. Not the illusions that you see in the performances of magicians, but those illusions that we ourselves create and see around us every day. At the very beginning, I would like to make a reservation that this topic is so extensive and controversial that there is not the slightest opportunity to reveal this issue in one single article.
As soon as we start talking about reality and illusions, we immediately fall into the trap of our psyche. The fact is that we are arranged in such a way that we subjectively perceive the world around us through our senses.
We do not perceive the world as it is, we create our own model of this world. The following thesis is widely known: “the map is not the territory”.
Where do we get our knowledge of the reality around?
From early childhood, when we are completely open and naive, do not have the ability to critically relate to what is happening, “different cards” begin to load into us. First, our parents and relatives do it, then, strangers, school, media, friends, society, institute continue. Then we go into real life, and sometimes it turns out that the world is not what we imagined it to be. Here we are faced with the collapse of our illusions. But no matter how painful this process is, do not worry, very quickly at this point we will create a new illusion.
Once again I would like to emphasize that people are not divided into those who live in reality and those who live in illusions. To one degree or another, we all live in our own illusions.
From a practical point of view, it is more important how viable your illusions are and allow you to have a good quality of life, be happy, or vice versa, make us unhappy hostages of our own neuroses. Our mind is the greatest illusionist which, on the one hand, protects us from the chaos of the Universe, selecting only the information that it considers necessary and safe, but on the other hand, acts as a jailer, not allowing us to go beyond the created world.
What controls and determines our behavior?
In every second of time, we are affected by a huge amount of information, but only our consciousness distorts, generalizes, and skips something at all, so that God forbid you do not suspect something was wrong. The most frequent and effective The mechanism that controls our behavior is fear. in all its manifestations.
Remember the Internet meme about the dress, which some people saw as white and gold, and some people were sure that it was blue and black. It seems to me that there is not a single office left that does not have time to discuss this phenomenon. Here is a clear example of how our consciousness plays with us. Now think for a second that the world is a thousand times more complicated than this dress situation. One physicist expressed the following thought: “We used to think that physics explains the laws of the Universe, but now we understand that physics can only explain what is available to our consciousness about the laws of the Universe.” Or consider the responses that Interrstellar received. In this artistic form, many got acquainted with some theories that have long been known to physicists.
But let's now move on from cosmic scales, to our daily life. What are these black holes and gravitational fields and the distortion of space-time continuums to us? Here to sort out your life!
I can boast that every day I meet with other realities and other Universes. How? It's very simple - I meet people. When a person tells me about his life, I never cease to be amazed at how different everything is arranged there. Each of us is a window to another world for the other.
THE BIGGEST HUMAN ILLUSIONS IN LIFE
Illusion of immortality.
"What the hell?" - you say. It would seem that all people understand that they are mortal, but at the same time, this very fear of death exists in us. And the main role that he performs is an attempt in every way to protect us from dangers, and ultimately, to cheat death. One problem, this very fear manifests itself every day in all spheres of life. “I won't go there because it could be dangerous for my health. I won't do it because it's dangerous for my well being. I basically avoid any danger.”
One day I was watching my 3 year old son who was trying to climb a pile of rubble. There were quite large stones lying there, my son tried to climb to the very top without any fear. I was worried about his life and health, and began to pull me up, saying, “it’s dangerous, don’t get in there, stop right now, be careful you stumble and fall!”. And at that moment I thought, “how can he climb his mountains of life if I teach him to be afraid?” After all, how often in life do we approach “our mountain” and refuse even an attempt to climb it, because we are afraid of falling.
This is how our fear of death works.
Illusion of omnipotence.
Somewhere in the depths of our souls, it seems to us that in fact we can do everything, that everything depends on us, we are almost perfect, there is very little left. We drive away from ourselves even the very idea that we are just a person, and at the same time are very limited, too much is beyond our control, and we will never become ideal.
The illusion of personal responsibility.
Surprisingly, at the same time as the illusion of omnipotence, we also have the illusion of our responsibility for our lives. After all, every person, without batting an eyelid, will say that, of course, he is responsible for his thoughts, decisions, and actions. And in most cases - it will be a blatant lie! It is enough to start asking such a person about his life, and he will gladly begin to attribute everything to circumstances, chance, fate or heredity. “I was not lucky, my parents, society, the state are to blame, it happened, I don’t know why it happened, something came over me” Here is a small list from a large list of excuses that everyone has. Even in relationships, someone else is always to blame, he was bad, and no one notices his own contribution. It's no secret that today many people just watch life pass by. Ask yourself “how did I get through the last week, last month?” How much can you remember and how much have you been ACTIVE in your life? Well, if your story for a week is within an hour, some have even less.
The illusion of freedom of choice.
Another "pretty lie". In order to choose, we must have alternatives, but neither in our thoughts nor in our feelings do most of us have that luxury. People even describe their feelings as “a feeling seized me”, as if it were an object of the material world that came, hit on the head, tied it up and dragged it into slavery. A person experiences a feeling, and not vice versa, a feeling experiences a person. A lot of our behavior, our decisions are subject to emotional motives.
You have probably observed that in the same situation, different people behave differently and may experience quite different feelings. Haven't you wondered why? Most people in a particular situation simply reflect (give out one or two emotional reactions that they have learned in their lives), with little or no awareness of what is happening in a particular second of their life. This phenomenon is faced by everyone who has ever sought psychological help. Therefore, awareness of their feelings and emotions is the first thing that clients learn in their psychotherapy, this is what, in the end, gives real freedom of choice later. The picture is about the same with our mental schemas: we are used to thinking and acting this way, because we have no other experience, and this is the force of habit.
The illusion of separateness.
It seems to us that we can exist separately from the rest, that we have nothing in common with the other 6 billion people on the planet, as well as those who lived before. But whether we like it or not, however, we are social beings who cannot exist separately, moreover, long-term isolation without any contact can destroy our psyche. There are enough such examples in history. We tend to overlook what is the result of genes, upbringing, training, environment, and other factors. We do not know our family histories well enough to be able to trace some of the life scenarios that are being implemented from generation to generation. How many times have I witnessed how people, having started talking about their parents, grandparents, with surprise, suddenly discovered a 100% coincidence of individual life scenarios, and when they started asking more about their family in adulthood, they were simply amazed at these historical coincidences.
The illusion of happiness.
Most of us live with the firm belief that happiness is something that is outside of me, that for this feeling, I need to have something. Modern marketers are well aware of this deception, so they try to release as many products as possible, which, according to them, should make you happy. But not a single object in the world can make you happier; rather, you will feel unhappy because you don’t have it. Everything that is in our life, we tend to devalue and perceive as insignificant. We don't even know how to be grateful for it. And, as a rule, we begin to appreciate only when we irretrievably lose (health, relationships, relatives, wake up every morning and just live). In today's world, it is customary to consider the "normal" state of the "unfortunate person." Being unhappy, in principle, is not difficult, you don’t need to do anything for this, but to be happy, you have to work on yourself. Sometimes, being happy or unhappy is really just a matter of our REAL choice. But as long as the illusion of happiness is alive in us, we will never experience real happiness.
Illusion of guilt or victim.
There is an illusion of responsibility in our actions, and when these actions lead to a “bad” result, bring “harm to ourselves or others”, a feeling of guilt automatically arises. “I am guilty because I made such a decision and acted accordingly.” The illusion of guilt makes a person suffer, be a victim who atones for his guilt. Here it is worth remembering the problems of education. How much "obscurantism" you sometimes have to deal with when communicating with people. Sometimes, women are ready to feel guilty for any of their manifestations and feelings. Do you want to look bright, attractive and sexy? Welcome to "prostitutes"! No one, no one in reality will say such words to this woman, maybe only in childhood her mother is hot, but she will live all her life with this feeling. Have you been sexually assaulted? Of course, it’s her own fault, because the proverb says “the bitch won’t want it, the dog won’t jump up”! Does your husband drink? Naturally, the bad wife is to blame!
I said at the beginning that this topic is very large, so perhaps we will return to the continuation next time. And today, let me finish with this, I hope you have enough food for thought.
Illusions and delusions of man.
People cultivate, love and cherish their illusions and delusions. Being a prisoner of his social masks and playing many social roles, in the desire to be and look more successful, significant and weighty in front of himself and for society, a person is rapidly immersing his consciousness in the zone of illusory reality. Part of his delusions, as well as building stereotypes and mental distortions, a person receives in childhood from his first social teachers - parents, in the process of education, and also from the immediate environment in the future. In the end, many people who are already adults simply drown in their illusory constructs, and when their heads show at least a little on the surface of the flow of the current ... then the unprepared psyche, accustomed to the sweetness of their beliefs, in this case is vulnerable and suffers a lot. , because reality is objective, and people again go headlong into the turbulent course of their endless illusions. But the law of objective reality dictates its own rules: the more a person runs away from reality, the faster reality overtakes him. And in the end, the house of cards of the illusory construction is destroyed to its foundation. True, the individual defense mechanisms of the human psyche are such that his mind has a specific feature to immediately actively seek opportunities and reasons for building new chains of illusions and delusions. Illusions and delusions, having their hidden roots, like a sprawling tree, fertilized by the mentality of the individual and often by collective support, let their branches into various aspects of life: into ideas about physical reality; in a person's ideas about himself, about his neighbors; illusions and delusions are numerous in the as yet imperfect scientific field; and making their way even into the spiritual realm, illusions and delusions dazzle there with a woven patterned carpet of various colors.
Illusions are multifaceted and numerous, but now we will talk about mental distortions that manifest themselves in the everyday life of people. Often a person wants to embody his dreams in a concrete manifestation, choosing small areas of living space where these dreams can find at least a partial realization. An active role, and often deceptive, is played here by visualization and imagination, because it is on this basic basis that a person’s consciousness builds a picture of the world in which a significant area of his perception is located: imaginary relationships, imaginary feelings, imaginary life realities. But to the objective vision of the existing world, the consciousness that is in an illusory fantasy, the passage is closed, because such a perception will destroy the built-up illusion of happiness. The personality tries to find the solid in the unreal, the permanent in the impermanent, the foundation in the abyss.
An excerpt from an article in a psychological magazine: "To stimulate, activate the imagination, a person begins to use various methods: sex, sometimes drugs, alcohol, works of art, the virtual space of computer games and the Internet. Often a person goes into a very dangerous fantasy world - into a fantasy of distorted exotericism, "spiritual" practices, and "magic".
Yes, people immerse themselves in fantasy, and not in the depth of real teachings that really develop awareness, because those practices and teachings that are creative in their basis, they are a direction for internal growth and movement towards the conscious development of the spiritual level and intellect, and this a lot of work, which the vast majority does not want, because the path of mental laziness, the mind that is in an illusory idea of the greatness of its "I" is much more attractive and easier.
Some people, having barely begun to practice any of the energy practices, are already positioning themselves as the chosen ones, and gaining the audacity to “develop” the ability to trance, to astral travel (for example), for a fee, or are engaged in all sorts of “cleansing karmas” for all those who trusted them, who uses these received "opportunities" as an additional means to close themselves from the world.
It should be added that now, in the era of opportunities to receive extensive and various information, those who are looking for their spiritual path / direction, not only have the opportunity to get acquainted with this or that teaching, but also better learn this or that branch of any teaching. But at the same time, a sea of distorted, misleading mental currents appeared (these can be promising concocted in their own interests by various authors, and at the same time - zombie consciousness of people, various texts that claim to be a holistic teaching), and as a result, many people get confused, someone cannot choose for themselves something closest to his spirit, someone takes the false for the true, someone plunges headlong into any teaching, and then gets tired of it, etc.
And many people have a question: How to distinguish the true from the false, or how to choose for yourself one of the directions?
And the answer will be simple:
Any teaching is good, and is a creative force for human consciousness, if it:
1. Makes a person wiser,
2. Makes a person stronger in spirit
3. If this teaching, as they say, is a joy, and is the path of the heart for this person.
Further. Illusion is comparable to fantasy. What is fantasy? Fantasy is the same escape from real life and from the real formation of a person on a spiritual path, with the slight difference that illusions can also be both individual and collective, and in the second case, a collective illusion can be infected, and a fantasy is created by the person himself relatively its reality. But, in any case, a person always starts his flight himself, and very soon a group of comrades-in-arms is created, united by one common illusion and consciousness stuck in it. For example, these are various communities of bohemian people, or fans of computer games, as well as groups of religious sects, groups of pseudo-spiritual societies. Many examples can be found.
Psychology of interpersonal communication: "But no matter what rules of life and laws people fantasize in a group, real problems of consciousness will always make themselves felt: resentment, envy, vanity, jealousy, etc. And they still have to be solved."
Next, consider all possible options for the causes of mental illusions and various delusions:
1. The individual is mistaken quite sincerely, taking his delusion as the only instance of truth, steadfastly holds his position. The conservatism of his views makes it difficult to see reality from a wider range of perspectives.
2. The individual plays into his delusion. That is, he understands everything perfectly, but makes a choice for his social mask, or role, for example: "a good" face "and manners in a bad game" - this is the style of many political leaders who promise before the elections that everything will be fine, simply " choose me!" Constantly maintaining in people the illusion of strength, future happiness, playing on their impulses and aspirations to bring fantasies to life, such leaders acquire both power and fairly decent financial support. This category also includes representatives of network marketing, builders of ideas and financial pyramids, pseudo spiritual teachers and leaders.
3. A person is actually sincerely mistaken and does not play into these delusions, because he believes in them, but he needs these delusions of his own because of some of his personal or social benefits, therefore it is imperative for him to support his created mental constructs. For example, a wife who intuitively feels the betrayal of her husband does not believe her intuition, but relies on his words about fidelity and love. This is a well-known insuring mechanism of consciousness: in such situations, one can say that a person stubbornly desires to be deaf, blind and weak.
Many people are mistaken in their social significance: it also happens that giving all their energy life potential to their profession, a person is mistaken in the fact that he realizes himself socially, what this community needs, that he has weight and significance in his team .. But there comes a moment of change of leadership at the workplace and a dedicated employee turns out to be objectionable, or not needed.. Such twists of fate are always perceived very painfully and often with mental breakdowns, or disorders.
Sometimes a person realizes that his social work is just a means of getting away from gloomy, depressing thoughts and an oppressive feeling of loneliness, but is this a way to escape from oneself really?
4. Fanaticism. This category of people does not analyze the situation at all. They have one purposeful, controlling voice: the voice of their authority. For example, the voice of their teacher, or the voice of someone significant to them, or something meaningful: if this something is inanimate, then it may be an idea that a person is obsessed with. Religious, sectarian, sports fanaticism, etc. Also, the voice of the only authority can be the own voice of the impure mind (not the inner voice of the soul)
5. Delusions with insight. The individual is not closed from the incoming information of the surrounding world, and his perception changes with the growth of the development of his consciousness. This, one might say, is a good case of delusion, for it carries a stimulus to one's own spiritual and conscious development of the individual.
So, an illusion is a firmly held false belief, an identification or, perhaps, an ideal of what is imagined in relation to itself. Illusions lead away from the objectivity of perception, especially those that are mentally built, nurtured and fertilized by the emotional plan of a person, thereby representing a temporarily created reality, and not a spiritual basis / basis. Illusions are very powerful because the mind takes it for granted that they exist, while in fact they do not exist; they seem to be something true, but, in fact, this is a props, a distorted reality.
The mind can be deceived by distortions and illusions, but the heart cannot be deceived. That is why it is not always possible to trust your thoughts, but you can always rely on your feeling coming from the heart. Here, a trap for consciousness is possible: often a person takes the annoying inner voice of egocentrism, guided by the principles: “I want”, “I wish”, “necessary”, “profitable”, etc., for the voice of the heart and intuition. And very often the voice of emotions is mistaken for the voice of inner feeling. But emotions are fluid and not constant.
Psychology of illusory perception: “The world of temporary forms of illusions creates reality for some people, and for others - a permanent stay of their consciousness in the past. This shows the ignorance of everyone. A lot needs to be comprehended and realized by a person in order to understand his tasks and his true significance in this world.
But, in many cases, this significance (mission, or purpose) is distorted and determined not only by the person himself, but also by other people who want to dominate and rule over his opinion and his life. As a result, some seek protection from God, others try endlessly to justify themselves both in their own eyes and in the eyes and behavior of other people, through condemnation and criticism, while at the same time desperately wanting to get support from the outside.
Both that, and another - there is a way of self-forgetful illusion.
Now the esoteric topic of reincarnations is very relevant, and it should be noted that many people, distortedly understanding the meaning of reincarnation, find an illusion to calm their minds, expressed in the thought: "I was so-and-so in a past life, and then I will be so-and-so again and I will meet with something..etc." In fact, everything that relates to the emotional, personal "I", expressed in the integrity of the "mind-body-spirit" complex, is alive only here and now. Consciousness itself in interaction with the area of "second attention", not locally in the space-time continuum, and it is possible to get access to the Akashic chronicles if you set your perception to receive information from the conditionally called unfoldable distant "past", but these will be other sets of "mind". -body-spirit" with their immediate karmic tasks and ways of interactions in their formation, even if the soul, dressed in "your" physical body, which is "here and now", has a direct relation to them. The Monad, as a divine substance, will continue its way further, gradually evolving from form to form, gaining more and more light, experience and wisdom, systematically moving towards the One Divine Source, imprinting all acquired/assimilated information and going through certain evolutionary cycles of its formation (cycles , independent of the human concept of the nature of time), and this is the meaning of reincarnation. Each atom becomes visible, then gradually a complex unit, and being attracted to the sphere of earthly activity, the Monadic Essence passes through the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, gaining experience of its formation of Consciousness, and finally approaches the human form, where it continues its formation and set of experience. And first of all, speaking about consciousness in human form, and about reincarnation, in order to lose the illusory nature of ideas, you need to decide: what is the “I” of a person, and which of this “I” is transient and what is immortal. But does it matter to a person who sincerely believes that his personal "I" will remain intact and remain indestructible ... In fact, for the best quality of one earthly life, it is effective not to deceive yourself with distorted ideas about reincarnation, because, anyway , then, it will no longer be the same "you", because "you", a person who is "here and now" with all his awareness and qualities of character and personality - is only here and now, and only in this life. And only this matters, and therefore you can’t be so blasphemous about your active time, just wasting and killing it for no reason, plus being in constant emotional destabilizing forms (anger, fears, resentment, hatred. ..etc), because life is short. And then it makes sense to think that there is only one life: This one. And if it slips away from "you" like a kind of shadow, then this is the saddest thing that can happen to "you" in this world, because being in this life, it turns out that "you" did not live, did not breathe with full breasts, but all the time waiting for something, or suffering from something, or just being lazy, dreary and offended ..., thus, "you" experienced only a projection of life, and a projection of your true self, and this is very sad. But you have to Live and go to your real self in this life.
A person is led exactly as much as he allows himself to be led, a person is dependent exactly as much as he is afraid of losing his addiction, a person is blind and deaf exactly as much as it is convenient for him to be blind and deaf ... But, the more he runs away from reality, the faster reality overtakes him... And at one fine moment all illusoryness collapses and a person sees reality that covers him with his head like a storm wave. What's next? Further, either reality teaches you to open your eyes and go to your strength, or more often, stereotyped thinking is such that a person is actively looking for new illusions and new constructions in which it is convenient to live, and so it will be until the next wave, which will wash away all constructs, and again a person will face a choice: to go to Himself, or from Himself...
The loss of illusions is the undermining and elimination of beliefs, it is always a great stress for the individual, as all her former beliefs are collapsing, which no longer support her and do not help her. To lose illusions means to go beyond the influence of the illusory perception of the world. But in order to go beyond these limits, first you need to find the energy in yourself in order to accept (be able to see) your illusory nature. This is the realization that we all see reality only in a very narrow spectrum, within the framework corresponding to the development of our consciousness. But as our consciousness grows, we see wider, deeper, higher and more voluminous and more adequate in relation to the objective reality that surrounds us.
ILLUSION(illusion of perception) - inadequate reflection of the perceived object and its properties; distortion of the perception of particular features of certain objects or images. Sometimes this is the name given to the configurations of stimuli themselves that cause such a perception. The most studied are the illusory effects observed in the visual perception of two-dimensional contour images. These optical-geometric illusions consist in the apparent distortion of the metric relationships between image fragments. The phenomenon of luminance contrast belongs to another class of illusions; for example, a gray stripe on a light background seems darker than on a black one. Many illusions of apparent movement are known:
1) autokinetic movement - chaotic movements of an objectively stationary light source observed in complete darkness;
2) stroboscopic movement - the impression of the movement of an object during the rapid sequential presentation of two motionless stimuli in close proximity;
3) induced movement - the apparent movement of a stationary object in the direction opposite to the movement of the external background. Illusions of perception of a non-visual nature include, for example, the Charpentier illusion: of two objects of equal weight, but different sizes, the smaller one seems heavier. There are also various installation illusions (-> installation). Some illusions are complex: for example, in a weightless situation, with unusual stimulation of the vestibular apparatus, the assessment of the position of visual and acoustic objects is disturbed. There is no single theory explaining all the illusions of perception yet. It is generally accepted that illusory effects, as shown by the German scientist G. Helmholtz, are the result of the work under unusual conditions of the same perception mechanisms that ensure its constancy under normal conditions. At the heart of the mechanisms that cause the appearance of illusions.
The studies fix the social determinants of the transformation of images - the features of the spheres of motivation and need, the influence of emotional factors, past experience, the level of intellectual development. The transformation of images of objective reality occurs under the influence of integral formations of the personality: attitudes, semantic formations, worldview. By changing the characteristics of the perception of illusions, one can determine the global characteristics and qualities of a person - his condition (fatigue, activity), character and type of personality, status and self-esteem, pathological changes, susceptibility to suggestion. Experimental data were obtained, indicating a change in the vision of perception illusions in situations of actualization of the image of another significant one. In these studies, the emphasis is shifted from studying the characteristics of perception to studying the personal qualities of a person (‑> reflected subjectivity). Spatial visual illusions are especially numerous, although illusions based on other modalities are known, in particular those that appear for different modalities (=> apparent movement; Aristotle illusion; gravity illusion; Mach band; Pulfrich stereo effect; unconscious setting; Fechner color; autokinetic effect ).
(Golovin S.Yu. Dictionary of practical psychologist - Minsk, 1998)
ILLUSIONS OF PERCEPTION(English) illusion; from lat. illudere - to deceive) - distorted perceptions of real objects. Most of them are observed in the area vision. Especially numerous are visual illusions (“deceptions of the eye”) that arise when reflecting certain spatial properties of objects (lengths of segments, sizes of objects and angles, distances between objects, shape) and movement. You can select a trace. their types.
1. Illusions associated with the structure of the eye. An example is the illusions that are the result of the effect of irradiation of excitation in the retina and are expressed in the fact that light objects seem to us to be O larger than their equal dark ones (for example, a white square on a black background seems larger than a black square on a light background that is the same as it is - see Fig. 3a). (cf. Aubert phenomenon.)
2. Overestimation of the length of vertical lines in comparison with horizontal ones when they are actually equal. The height of the figure in fig. 3b seems to be larger than its width, although in reality the figure has the shape of a square. If the lengths of the perpendicular and its horizontal base are equal, the first is perceived b O longer in length. Any distance filled with individual objects seems to be larger than unfilled, and the distance filled with transverse lines lengthens more than that filled with longitudinal lines.
3. Illusions due to contrast. The perceived size of the figures turns out to be dependent on the environment in which they are given (Fig. 1c). The same circle seems to be O largest among small and smaller among large circles ( Ebbinghaus illusion).
4. Transferring the properties of the whole figure to its individual parts. We perceive the visible figure, each separate part of it, not in isolation, but always in a known whole. IN Muller-Lyer illusions straight lines ending in differently directed angles appear to be unequal in length (Fig. 1 G).
The opposite cases of visual illusions are also possible, when, due to the greater difference between 2 adjacent parts, the impression of a secondary difference in the figures as a whole arises. Shown in fig. 1d the figures are the same, although the upper one seems to be smaller than the lower one, since the lower side of the upper figure is clearly smaller than the upper side of the lower figure adjacent to it ( Jastrov's illusion).
5. Apparent distortion of the direction of the lines due to hatching, intersections with other lines. Parallel lines appear curved under the influence of other lines crossing them ( Zellner illusion; rice. 1h). There is a well-known illusion of non-collinearity, or a break in a straight line (Fig. 1g): straight line segments crossing 2 horizontal (or vertical) rectangles are perceived not as belonging to 1 straight line, but as separate segments located at different levels ( poggendorff illusion).
6. A number of I. v. are known, which are based on a reassessment of the magnitude of acute angles. A fairly well-known illusion is caused by parallel lines that form sharp angles with other lines. Due to the illusory exaggeration of the latter, the parallel lines do not appear to be so. For the same reason, the circle seems to be drawn in at the corners of the square inscribed in it (Fig. 1g).
Fig.1 Examples of visual illusions
The reasons causing And. century, are diverse and not clear enough. Some theories explain visual illusions by the action of peripheral factors (irradiation, accommodation,eye movements etc.), etc. - by the influence of some central factors. Sometimes illusions appear due to the action of special conditions of observation (for example, with one eye or with fixed axes of the eyes). A number of illusions are due to the optics of the eye. Great value in emergence of visual And. has a systemic effect of temporary connections that have developed in past experience, which, for example, explains the illusion of likening a part to a whole: usually, if the whole is larger, then its part is also larger (in comparison with similar parts of another, smaller whole), and, conversely, if to .-l. of these parts is less, then the whole is less. Illusions of contrast m. b. explained by the inductive relations of excitation and inhibition in cerebral cortex. Visual I. in. widely used in painting and architecture.
I. in. can be observed not only in the field of vision, but also in other areas of perception. Yes, well known illusion of gravity A. Charpentier: if you lift 2 objects that are the same in weight and appearance, but different in volume, then the smaller one is perceived as heavier (and vice versa). This illusion is based on the relationship formed in life between the weight (volume) and the size of objects: the greater the value, the volume, the greater the weight. And when this expectation is not true, there is contrast illusion.
Known in the realm of touch Aristotle's illusion. If we cross our index and middle fingers and at the same time touch them to a ball or pea (roll them), then we will perceive not 1 ball, but 2.
Illusions can also arise under the influence of immediately preceding perceptions. Such, for example, are the contrasting illusions that are observed during the development of a “setting” according to the method D.H.Uznadze. After repeated perception of strongly differing objects (in weight, size, volume, etc.), objects that are equal in the same respect are perceived by a person as unequal: b O An object that is located in the place of a previously perceived smaller object seems larger, etc. Contrasting illusions are also often observed in the field of temperature and taste sensations: after a cold stimulus, a thermal stimulus seems hot; after feeling sour or salty, sensitivity to sweets increases, etc. See also. Landless field(autokinetic illusion), moon illusion,induced movement,induced(Fechner's)colors,Apparent movement,mach stripes,Oculogravic illusion,Optical Geometric Illusions,pulfrich stereo effect.
(Zinchenko V.P., Meshcheryakov B.G. Big psychological dictionary - 3rd ed., 2002)
We all once encountered such a concept as an illusion or illusory perception. And we roughly guess what this concept means. But let's take a closer look at this issue and find out what types of illusions are and what it really means.
What is this?
Illusion - illusio, translated from Latin means mockery, delusion and deceit. This is a distorted or erroneous perception of reality, surrounding objects and phenomena, the adoption of the imaginary for the real. This is where imagination kicks in and false images appear. 
This is due to such factors:
- an optical illusion is created when, during the normal operation of the sense organs, the visual image is distorted;
- in narcotic, pathological or affective conditions of a person;
- during severe pain or feelings, reality is perceived inadequately;
- in a period of hope and expectation;
- in the presence of important needs and the desire to urgently satisfy them, a distortion of the visible object occurs. For example, a tired and thirsty traveler in the desert constantly sees a mirage and disappears;
- arises as a result of a violation of one of the five senses;
- the level also affects the appearance of illusions, therefore, as you know, in the absence of knowledge, conjectures and legends appear;
- there have been many studies in which society influenced real perception. If a person had a certain opinion about something, then under the pressure of the rest of the mass of people, the perception of reality was distorted or its sharpness decreased.
In everyday life, you can often hear the concept of illusion, which replaces dreams and hopes that are considered unrealistic and unrealistic. It is rather a flight of creative imagination. In our harsh reality, illusory perception can be a method of hiding from reality in fantasies that facilitate the existence of a person in society and his psychological state.
Important!It is necessary to distinguish an illusion from a hallucination, since the former can be easily distinguished and understood as its appearance, and it can be seen by all people without exception. Hallucinations are more of a perceptual disorder, when various objects appear where they cannot be. And this is the specialization of psychologists and psychiatrists.
Illusions of healthy people
Illusions are not always a pathology, for example, an ordinary person can hear steps behind his back, returning home on a dark night, in the absence of anyone around. Let's consider what illusions psychologically and physically healthy people can have.
Physical
Physical disorders of consciousness are diverse and most common. They do not depend on the psychological state of a person and appear from time to time in most people. 
This is due to optical illusion, when the eyes see a certain object or phenomenon, and the brain perceives this information in its own way.
When information is received from the outside world into a person, many data processing processes begin, and the results may be inaccurate. 
Lighting also plays a significant role here. For example, we all saw a rainbow, but this is just a hoax, because you can’t get close to it, touch it and feel it.
cognitive
Cognitive illusions appear due to an already established assumption about the world at an unconscious level. These include the most famous optical illusions such as:
- geometric visual illusion;
- paradox;
- fiction;
- simplification by the brain of information, even if the correct answer seems irrational.
Among them are distinguished:
- the illusion of distortion and the perception of dimensions worked on by Ponzo, Hering, Müller-Lyer and Orbison. On a plane, images associated with perspective are distorted. If you depict them in space, then the illusion disappears;
- impossibility of figures. Here, perception is distorted due to the inconsistency of the connections of the figure, which at first glance seems to be an ordinary three-dimensional object;
- the illusion of perceiving faces is associated with an already established view of the world. From a distance of one meter, when looking at the concave part of the mask, it will seem convex to us, because in life we do not meet concave faces, and our brain decides that it is convex;
- consideration of figure and ground. Looking at some pictures, you need to decide for yourself which of the images is a figure and which is the background. There is no right answer here;
- optical illusion, when static drawings seem to us to be moving.
Physiological
Physiological illusions are directly related to the peculiarities of the perception of reality when all the senses are working normally. 
When receiving information, they do not work together, and each gives out its own information.
It is this discrepancy in the work of the brain, the vestibular apparatus and other organs that leads to the appearance of delusion.
There are many examples, for example:
- if you press on the eye, then the object you are looking at will split in two, which is associated with an axis shift;
- if you look out the window from a standing train to a neighboring one that is moving, then it seems that it is your train that is moving;
- frequent accompaniment of pilots and astronauts - the effect of counter-rotation, when during training and testing, during rapid rotation, the activity of the vestibular apparatus is disrupted and the effect of rotation in the opposite direction is created.
affective
Affective or affectogenic illusions arise as a result of an excessive reaction of a person, especially fear, anxiety or suspiciousness.
This state can appear on a dark night, when, walking through a park or street, every person you meet can seem like a maniac.Or, under the influence of fear, an illusion may appear that instead of a random object, someone has a knife or other dangerous weapon in their hands. 
Therefore, actions committed in such a state, as a rule, go to their own defense, sometimes with grave consequences.
Important!An affective disorder is dangerous for others, therefore, at the first sign of it, you need to stay away from such a person and urgently call an ambulance.
Pathological illusions of perception are regularly studied in psychology and psychiatry as a violation of the associative process of the mentally ill, his, and behavior. 
The main characteristics and signs of pathological illusions are:
- individual manifestations, since the same illusion is impossible for several people;
- the exclusivity of the phantom lies in the fact that it is not repeated in the mentally ill;
- absolutely perceptual distortion, that is, from one real visible object another appears, without any similarity;
- the incomprehensibility of the situation when the subject of the imagination absolutely falls out of reality, excluding the possibility of any explanation;
- lack of criticism and awareness of the fact of illusion as such, the desire to correct something;
- a tendency to turn the phantom into a hallucination;
- subsequent violation of the patient's behavior, disorientation in space, he can hide, talk to himself, run away or attack.
Pathological disorders of consciousness are conditionally divided into four types: verbal, organic, pareidolic and awareness.
During verbal illusions, the perception of sound stimuli and the conversations of others is distorted. 
During the conversations of people nearby, in advice and questions addressed to the mentally ill, only reproaches, ridicule, reproaches or even threats seem to him.
This also applies to television and radio broadcasting - all this is just an appeal to him. At the same time, the real content of the conversation or information does not reach the person at all.
In the presence of anxiety, suspicion and fear, such a thing as an affective verbal illusion appears.
Organic disturbances in the perception of reality are also called metamorphopsias. These concepts imply a perverted or distorted perception of objects in space, their shape, color, location and size. 
The feeling of the state of rest of a real object or its movement also changes. Such phantoms are divided into two types:
This type of illusion was first introduced by K. Jaspers and lies in the fact that the patient constantly thinks that someone is nearby, although he is completely alone in the room. 
This distortion is the beginning of hallucinations and delusions.
Pareidolic
From the Greek para means about, and eidoles means image. This is an optical illusion of fantastic or exotic content.
In everyday life, instead of a picture on the wallpaper or a carpet pattern, instead of a crown of trees, the outlines of clouds appear as fabulous figures, figurative characters. 
The usual and real picture is transformed into fantastic birds, animals, colorful landscapes and scenes of various content appear.
This phantom is a fairly common consequence of the use of narcotic substances such as hashish, LSD or opium, as well as in a state of extreme intoxication. This is characteristic of patients with a lively and strong imagination. This is also often observed in people who suffer from frequent.
Unlike other manifestations, it is very difficult to stop, and the more the patient peers into the object, the more real it becomes for him.Illusions are quite an interesting subject for scientists to study, and every year it becomes more and more popular with ordinary people. Therefore, it is better to know and distinguish between minor illusions of a healthy person and mental disorders.
(for example, an optical illusion: a spoon partially immersed in a glass of water is perceived as broken);
A static picture can give the illusion of movement when viewed.
Links
- The blog has a lot of optical illusions, 3D pictures and much more.
- More than 3 thousand optical illusions (illusions of movement, stereograms, impossible figures, illusions of contrast and color.
- KosiGlaza.ru - author's works only: stereo photos and stereo pictures.
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