ide of the parallel lines. The top line appears to be longer than the bottom line. This is a result of our perception thinking that the top horizontal line is father away from us, resulting in our brain telling us that the top line is longer than the bottom one. (Online. Retrieved on October 11, 2000 at http://www.epsychlopedia.net/concepts/sensationAndPerception/index.php?id=sensandperc8). Perceptual illusions also play a role on sports. In a March 1999 article from the Journal of Sport Behavior at the University of South Alabama, sport psychology researchers attempted to determine the best perspective for making accurate judgements with calling pitches a ball or a strike. The standard home plate umpiring position was compared to four other alternative positions. Each of the four alternative umpiring positions were higher and farther from the center of home plate. The four positions were labeled as follows: Inside-Far, in which the umpiring perspective was behind the line of the occupied batters box; Inside-Near, directly behind the outside corner of home plate; Outside-Near, directly behind the outside corner; and Outside-Far, behind the line of the unoccupied batter’s box (Repositioning the home plate umpire to provide enhanced perceptual cues and more accurate ball-strike judgements. 1999). The results from this experiment indicated that the positions behind the outside corner, farther from the batter, generated significantly more accurate calls due to the additional height and distance cues provided when umpires see pitches pass in front of the batter.Another example of a perceptual illusion is after-images. An after-image is an image that stays with you even after you have stopped looking at a certain object. The back of your eye is lined with light sensitive cells, called cones, which are only sensitive to certain colors of light. For example, stare at the picture of the turquoise, black, and yellow American fl...
