Apparent extended body motions in depth.

Five experiments were designed to investigate the influence of three-dimensional (3-D) orientation change on apparent motion. Projections of an orientation-specific 3-D object were sequentially flashed in different locations and at different orientations. Such an occurrence could be resolved by perceiving a rotational motion in depth around an axis external to the object. Consistent with this proposal, it was found that observers perceived curved paths in depth. Although the magnitude of perceived trajectory curvature often fell short of that required for rotational motions in depth (3-D circularity), judgments of the slant of the virtual plane on which apparent motions occurred were quite close to the predictions of a model that proposes circular paths in depth.