This optical phenomenon occurs when the stereoscopic cues received by the eyes are artificially reversed, typically by swapping the left and right visual fields. The brain processes this inverted parallax by interpreting solid, protruding shapes as hollow cavities and distant background elements as hovering in the foreground. Vision scientists study this effect to understand the hierarchy of depth cues, particularly how binocular disparity competes with monocular cues like shadows and occlusion.
The alignment error in the dual camera rig caused severe pseudoscopy when viewed on the 3D projection screen.
Do not mix it up with
- Orthostereoscopy: Pseudoscopy is the reversal of depth perception, whereas orthostereoscopy is the accurate, true-to-life reproduction of 3D space.
Related terms
Pseudoscope
A binocular optical device that swaps the left and right eye images to reverse depth perception.
Orthostereoscopy
The capture and display of three-dimensional images without spatial or depth distortion.
Motion parallax
The visual cue where objects closer to a moving observer appear to travel faster than distant objects.