The effects of binocular depth cues on the accuracy of visual depth perception
175.102-Psychology as a Natural Science
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of binocular cues in visual depth perception. It was hypothesised that binocular vision would result in better visual depth perception compared to monocular vision. The participant was a 21-year-old female undergraduate student. The experiment was set up as a within-subjects design. The participant was required to judge the distance between a fixed rod and a moveable rod across a scale on a wooden board. The participant was not able to see the scale and used binocular and monocular vision to judge these distances alternatively over four trials. The data was collected on a worksheet and analysed and the accuracy of the responses given by the participant in each condition was calculated. It was concluded that binocular vision leads to more accurate visual depth perception compared to monocular vision.
The effects of binocular depth cues on the accuracy of visual depth perception
According to Ukai and Howarth (2008), visual depth perception refers to an individual’s ability to see objects in three dimensions coupled with the ability to gauge distances between different objects. Individuals perceive depth and distance through a number of different visual cues. Visual cues are developed early in life. Visual cues may be pictorial or physiological. Visual cues are divided into binocular and monocular (Burton, Westen and Kowalski 2012). An individual’s ability to perceive factors such as distances and sizes depends on which visual depth cues are available to them.
According to Johnston, Cumming and Parker (1993), when perceiving visual stimuli, light first enters the eye through photoreceptors (rods and cones) that are present in the retina. Light travels to the bipolar cells and is then changed into neural impulses via ganglion cells. Impulses travel up to the thalamus where they are directed to the visual cortex. From the visual cortex, these impulses travel to the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe of the brain where these impulses are processed allowing the brain to perceive what the eyes see. Barlow, Blakemore and Pettigrew (1967) state that binocular cues are based on the reception of sensory information from both eyes, which is perceived in three dimensions. Monocular cues are based on the reception of sensory information from just one eye and therefore are perceived as two-dimensional.
Binocular cues allow individuals to perceive the world in three dimensions through the use of both eyes. According to Johnston et al (1993), physiological binocular cues include retinal convergence. This visual cue is integral to judging distances of objects. Convergence refers to the tendency of the eyes to converge inwards in a coordinated manner in order to focus on nearby objects. The closer the object is, the greater the convergence of the eyes will be. When an obj...
