Muller Lyer Experiment

Method
Aim
To understand the participant's susceptibility to Muller Lyer Illusion
Plan
Administer Muller Lyer experiment using PEBL
Hypotheses
H : There is no difference in the estimation of length while comparing the standard
line with the variable line
Hₐ (optional) : The length of the variable line is either overestimated or
underestimated while compared to the length of the standard line
Muller Lyer Illusion experiment in PEBL
Muller Lyer illusion experiment in PEBL is a digital replication of Muller Lyer
illusion board, in which a single line is classified into arrow-headed, and feather-
headed parts. In the Muller-Lyer illusion board, the arrow-headed part is considered as
the standard line, and the feather-headed part is the variable line. The respondent has
to compare the length of the variable line with the standard line.
In PEBL, a glimpse of a horizontal line with arrow and feather heads will appear on
the computer screen. The central arrowhead divides the line roughly into half. The
participant has to judge which side of the line is longer, to the left of the central
arrowhead, or towards the right. If the left is longer, the participant has to press the
left 'shift bar' in the computer keyboard. If the right is longer they have to press the
right 'shift bar' in the computer keyboard. After the completion of the experiment, the
participant's susceptibility to the Muller-Lyer illusion will be assessed based on the
average difference. The more the difference, the higher the vulnerability.
Procedure
The subject is seated comfortably. Environment is to be kept calm, quiet and
conducive to the experiment. The following details of the subject are recorded:
Initials:
Age:
Gender:
Educational qualification:
The participant is introduced to the Muller Lyer Experiments in PEBL. The
instructions are to judge the length of the line toward the left or towards the right of
the central arrow head. If the left side (>-------<) is longer than the right (<----->), the
participant is instructed to press 'shift key' at the left of the computer keyboard. If the
right side is longer than the left, the participant has to press 'shift key' at the right of
the computer keyboard. The participant has to undergo 50 trials, out of which the first
24 are practice trials. Once the participant has finished all the trials, the saved data is
downloaded in an excel sheet from the PEBL response repository.
Instructions
The following instructions are given to the subject:
"This is a test, which is named as Muller Lyer Experiment. In this test, you will see a
horizontal line with arrow and feather heads. Notice that there is an arrowhead (<) in
the centre, which divides the line roughly into half. You will be asked to judge which
side of the line is longer, to the left of the central arrowhead (>-----<), or to the right
(<------>). Both the lines will be integrated into a single line (>-----<----->). If you feel
that the left side is longer than right, you have to press the 'shift key' at the left of the
computer keyboard. If the right side is longer than the left, you have to press 'shift key'
at the right of the computer keyboard."
Controls/Precautions
● Environment is to be kept calm, quiet and conducive to the experiment.
● The experimenter tries their best to keep the subject relaxed and focussed.
● The participant is given 24 practice trials to learn how to respond using the
shift keys.
● The eye distance of the subject from the screen is to be kept at 0.5 feet.
● Screen is positioned at eye level exactly.
Analysis of results
The data on the responses of the participant is downloaded from the repository
of PEBL.
The difference column in the data sheet should be considered, where the average has
to be counted for experimental trials. In a similar manner, the total number of correct
responses (from the ‘corr’ column) and average reaction time of corresponding correct
responses (from the ‘rt’ column) can be calculated.
The average difference (in pixels, can later be converted into centimetres, using
formula 1 Pixel = 0.0264583333 cm) between the variable line and standard line was
calculated by taking an average of 26 actual trials. The more the difference, the higher
the vulnerability. A negative value of average difference indicates underestimation
and a positive value indicates overestimation.

Results
Table 1
Average difference, correct responses, and average reaction time of the participant
Participant Average difference No. of correct Average
responses reaction time