... It emerges as an opaque surface that is superimposed on the background figure and although we are aware of illusory properties of the triangle we cannot stop ourselves experiencing the illusion (Sekuler & Blake, 2002). This occurrence is by no means unique to Kanizsa's triangle. There are many other visual stimuli which produce similar results upon viewing. The illusory contour phenomenon has been studied quite intensely by psychologists over the years. Pradzny (1985) reported that over 440 papers had been published on this topic. These studies reveal many links between the illusory contour phenomenon and other visual phenomena such as monocular depth perception, binocular depth perception, amodal boundary completion, neon color spreading effects, etc. Despite this research effort, scientists still disagree on the mechanisms behind the illusory contour phenomena and at what stages of visual system do they actually appear. (Sekuler & Blake, 2002). Several lines of evidence support the view ...

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