Lesson 3.1.2.4.2

3.1.2.4.2 Examples: Ponzo, Muller-Lyer, Rubin's vase, Ames Room, Kanizsa triangle, Necker cube Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.1.2.4.2, Examples: Ponzo, Muller-Lyer, Rubin's vase, Ames Room, Kanizsa triangle, Necker cube: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE Psychology (8182), Unit 2: Perception, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which illusion uses two equal horizontal lines placed between a pair of converging lines?

    • The Kanizsa triangle, in which a triangle appears to have edges that are not actually drawn
    • The Ponzo illusion, in which the upper line looks longer than the lower line
    • The Necker cube, in which a line drawing can be seen in two different orientations
    • The Müller-Lyer illusion, in which two lines with arrow fins look different in their lengths

  2. Which illusion uses two lines with arrow-like fins at their ends?

    • The Müller-Lyer illusion, in which the lines look different in length although they are equal
    • The Ponzo illusion, in which two equal lines between converging lines look different in length
    • The Ames room, in which a distorted room makes people look different sizes to the viewer
    • The Rubin's vase, in which a figure can be seen as a vase or as two faces in the same image

  3. Which picture shows figure and ground that can be swapped by the viewer?

    • The Müller-Lyer illusion, where two lines with arrow fins look different in length to viewers
    • Rubin's vase, where the viewer can see a vase or two faces facing each other
    • The Ponzo illusion, where two horizontal lines between converging lines look different
    • The Kanizsa triangle, where three pac-man shapes give the impression of a white triangle

  4. Which illusion shows three pac-man shapes that create the impression of a white triangle with no edges drawn?

    • The Ames room, which looks like a rectangle from one viewpoint though it is distorted
    • The Necker cube, which can be seen as two different wire-frame cubes in the same drawing
    • The Müller-Lyer illusion, which makes two lines with fins look different in length
    • The Kanizsa triangle, which the brain fills in with illusory edges

  5. Which example is a wire-frame drawing that can be seen in two orientations?

    • The Kanizsa triangle, in which a white triangle appears with edges that are not drawn in the image
    • The Ames room, in which a distorted room looks rectangular to a viewer through a peephole
    • The Ponzo illusion, in which two equal lines between converging lines look different in length
    • The Necker cube, which can seem to flip between two different 3D positions

  6. Why does the Ames room look normal to a viewer through a peephole?

    • Because the room is built as a distorted shape, but the viewer assumes it is a normal rectangular room
    • Because the room is built as a normal rectangle, but the viewer's eyes see it as distorted
    • Because the room is lit so brightly that the viewer cannot see the walls and corners clearly
    • Because the room is so small that the viewer's sensory store cannot hold the whole of it

  7. In the Ames room, two people of the same height look very different in size. What explains this?

    • The room's distorted corners make the viewer misread the depth cues, so one person looks much larger
    • The two people are rehearsed differently by the viewer, so one of them is recalled as the larger
    • The two people are stored in different stores of memory, so one of them is remembered as bigger
    • The two people are coded differently in the sensory store, so one of them looks larger to the viewer

  8. What is the main feature of the Kanizsa triangle that makes it an example of fiction?

    • The triangle is coloured in a way that matches the viewer's expectation of what a triangle looks like
    • The triangle's edges are drawn in full, so the viewer simply copies them into memory accurately
    • The triangle's edges are created by the brain, even though the image does not contain them
    • The triangle is hidden behind other shapes, so the viewer must guess its position in the picture

  9. Which pair of illusions is explained by misreading depth cues?

    • Ponzo and Ames room
    • Rubin's vase and Kanizsa triangle
    • Necker cube and Rubin's vase
    • Kanizsa triangle and Necker cube

  10. Which pair of illusions is best explained by ambiguity?

    • Necker cube and Rubin's vase
    • Ponzo and Müller-Lyer
    • Müller-Lyer and Ames room
    • Ames room and Kanizsa triangle

  11. A viewer sees a drawing as either a vase or two faces, and can switch between them. Which example is this?

    • Rubin's vase, an ambiguous figure with figure and ground reversing
    • The Müller-Lyer illusion, where two lines with arrow fins look different in length to viewers
    • The Ponzo illusion, where two horizontal lines between converging lines look different in length
    • The Kanizsa triangle, where a triangle appears to have edges that are not drawn in the picture

  12. Which example is most closely linked to size constancy and the misapplied depth cues?

    • The Kanizsa triangle, where the brain fills in edges that are not drawn in the picture
    • The Ponzo illusion, where the upper line looks longer because it is judged to be further away
    • Rubin's vase, where figure and ground swap so the viewer sees a vase or two faces
    • The Necker cube, where the drawing can be seen as two different orientations by the viewer

  13. Which example uses a distorted room to show how assumptions about shape can mislead perception?

    • The Kanizsa triangle, where three pac-man shapes lead the brain to fill in a triangle
    • The Necker cube, where the wire-frame drawing can be seen in two different orientations
    • The Müller-Lyer illusion, where the fins at the end of the lines make them look different
    • The Ames room, where people at different corners look different sizes through a peephole

  14. Which illusion is best described as one where the brain creates a shape that is not present in the image?

    • The Kanizsa triangle, whose illusory contours are created by the brain
    • The Müller-Lyer illusion, whose fins make two equal lines look different in length
    • The Rubin's vase, whose figure and ground can swap so the viewer sees two faces
    • The Necker cube, whose drawing can be seen as two different orientations by the viewer

  15. Which pair of examples is most closely matched with the explanation of misread depth cues in the specification?

    • Rubin's vase and Kanizsa triangle
    • Kanizsa triangle and Necker cube
    • Necker cube and Rubin's vase
    • Müller-Lyer and Ponzo

  16. Why might the Müller-Lyer illusion persist even when the viewer knows the lines are equal?

    • Because the viewer has stored the lines in the sensory store, which keeps their lengths for ever
    • Because the viewer's eyes cannot measure lines accurately at any distance from the drawing
    • Because the perception of the fins as depth cues is automatic, so knowing the facts does not stop the effect
    • Because the viewer is rehearsing the lines in the short-term store, which makes them look different

  17. A teacher shows a drawing where the same ambiguous shape flips between two objects. Which example is shown?

    • The Kanizsa triangle, where the brain creates edges of a triangle that are not drawn
    • The Ponzo illusion, where the upper of two equal lines looks longer than the lower line
    • The Ames room, where the people at the corners look different sizes through a peephole
    • The Necker cube, where a wire-frame drawing can be seen in two different orientations

  18. Which illusion would best be used to show the effect of linear perspective on judgement of length?

    • The Necker cube, because the wire-frame drawing can be seen as two different 3D orientations
    • The Kanizsa triangle, because the brain fills in a triangle with edges that are not drawn
    • The Rubin's vase, because the figure can swap with the ground in the picture shown to viewers
    • The Ponzo illusion, because converging lines make the upper of two equal lines look longer

  19. Which example would show that the brain can fill in a shape that is not drawn?

    • The Necker cube, in which a wire-frame drawing can be seen in two different orientations
    • The Ponzo illusion, in which the upper of two equal lines looks longer than the lower line
    • The Kanizsa triangle, in which the brain creates the edges of a triangle from pac-man shapes
    • The Ames room, in which a distorted room looks rectangular through a peephole to the viewer

  20. In the Ames room, what does the viewer see through the peephole?

    • A distorted room that looks normal, because the viewer assumes it has a regular rectangular shape
    • A room with no depth cues at all, so that every object in it looks the same size to the viewer
    • A normal room that looks distorted, because the viewer's eyes are affected by the peephole itself
    • A room that changes shape as the viewer moves closer to the peephole in the wall of the room

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