Fixation and attention in apparent motion

The likelihood of reporting a figure in motion was measured when the point of fixation was systematically separated from the point of attention. More reports of optimal motion were made when the two points were separated than when they were close together. Control tests showed that the reduction in the probability of seeing motion through the center of fixation was more likely due to the structure of the eye than to the conflict of fixation point and object in illusory motion. The notion of attention as a perceptual event contributes little to these results.