Ambiguous figures can look different depending on how you see them. Scientists found that changing what you see before looking at an ambiguous figure, and the surroundings of the figure, can affect how you perceive it. They discovered that both changing what you see before and the context around the figure can make you see it differently. When they changed both things together, the effects added up, showing that they work independently. This means that what you see before and the context around the figure can each change how you see it, and neither one is the only reason for the change.