Objective. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the drift-diffusion model for describing the cognitive processes underlying the perception of ambiguous visual stimuli, using Necker cubes as an example.

Methods. To quantitatively describe decision-making processes, an evidence accumulation model is employed. Based on this model, reaction times are decomposed into components associated with information accumulation and additional cognitive processes, such as sensory processing and motor response execution.

Results. It is shown that increasing stimulus ambiguity leads to a decrease in the rate of accumulation of decision-relevant information, as well as an increase in the duration of non-accumulation processes. It was found that under low ambiguity, stimuli with different orientations are processed differently: one orientation is characterized by a higher rate of information accumulation. Furthermore, the influence of prior context was revealed: when the current stimulus matches the previous one, a reduction in the duration of non-accumulation processes is observed, while the rate of information accumulation remains unchanged.

Conclusion. The obtained results demonstrate that behavioral effects in the perception of ambiguous stimuli arise from the interaction of multiple cognitive stages. The proposed approach allows for the separate assessment of the contribution of these stages and provides a more precise understanding of decision-making mechanisms under conditions of uncertainty.