Also known as ambiguous figure, ambiguity, reversible figure, and bistable figure. All five terms refer to a " cognitive illusion elicited by images or objects that are capable of bringing about a perceptual 'switch' between the alternative interpretations of a given percept, rendering one meaningful configuration now, and then another Some well-known examples of illusions classified as ambiguous ones are shadows, hazes, apparent motion, the "Necker cube, "Jastrow's duck-rabbit, and "Rubin's figure. The term ambiguous illusion tends to be used in opposition to the terms "distortion illusion, "paradox illusion, and "fiction illusion.
References
Gregory, R.L. (1991). Putting illusions in their place. Perception, 20, 1-4.
Ninio, J. (2001). The science of illusions.Trans-lated by Philip, F. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Dictionary of Hallucinations. J.D. Blom. 2010.