Figure and ground in a two dimensional display

Abstract

To assist pilots in righting aircraft when flying blind, an instrument shows the horizon as moving (in a reversed sense) in relation to a stationary miniature aircraft. The efficacy of this display was compared with one in which the aircraft was the "figure," banking correctly in relation to a fixed horizon. The two displays also differed in the damping of the oscillations after a given displacement, and in their relative complication. Both flight cadets and experienced pilots were tested with both instruments, in a flying instrument trainer. The speed and accuracy of response was greater, required instructional time was shorter, and more Ss preferred, the simpler display which had the heavier damping. The pure figure-ground relation alone, however, appeared to play little part in perception. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)