The Effect of Depth Separation on Lateral Interference.
Abstract
Lateral interference is a generic term referring to the inhibitory interference among continuously visible adjacent contours that occupy the same plane in depth, e.g., a string of closely spaced alphanumeric characters. Both theoretical considerations and some data suggest that interference or interaction, for several kinds of visual phenomena, may not occur if the interacting elements occupy different depth planes. By generating stimuli as stereoscopic contours formed from dynamic random-element stereograms, the depth position can be easily manipulated without introducing potentially confounding changes in proximal stimulation. This approach in prior research has revealed that the interference between threshold level of transient stimuli, i.e., visual metacontrast masking, is strongly influenced by depth position. The present experiments examined the generality of this observation and determined: (a) if a similar effect is present when one or more of the interacting elements is a supra-threshold, continuously visible stimulus, and (b) if the lateral separation between elements is a significant factor. In four experiments, the interaction between an annulus and a Landolt-C enclosed within it was investigated as a function of their relative depth positions, and of the lateral distance between the inner edge of the annulus and the outer edge of the C.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA088176
Entities
People
- Robert E. Patterson
- Robert Fox
Organizations
- Vanderbilt University