The object and background hypothesis for vection

Stimulus attributes effective in inducing vection can be generalized by the object and background hypothesis, that is, properties that belong to ‘objects’ weaken vection while those of the ‘background’ enhance vection. We presented a motion-defined Rubin’s vase to induce vection. Results clearly indicated that the background dominantly induced vection. We further demonstrated that motion stimuli that had a property of an object could not induce vection efficiently. Investigating vection in the framework of the object and background hypothesis provides a unified point of view for understanding vection stimuli.