The Role of Convergence in Stereoscopic Depth Constancy.
Abstract
In order for retinal disparity to be used in making veridical depth judgments, stereoscopic depth constancy must occur. That is, retinal disparity must be rescaled as a function of fixation distance. This is necessary because the retinal disparity associated with a given depth interval varies with the overall distance of the depth interval from the observer. Since accurate depth judgments based on retinal disparity can be made over a wide range, such a rescaling must be made. For both theoretical and practical reasons, it is of importance to know the source of information used by the visual system to recalibrate retinal disparity as fixation distance changes. The present study assessed the importance of convergence in the rescaling of retinal disparity. The results showed no consistant effects of 5 disopters of convergence. These findings show that convergence cannot be the sole source of distance information for rescaling retinal disparity. They suggest that, in the presence of other sources of distance information, convergence plays a minor role in stereoscopic depth constancy. Finally, these data demonstrate the useful-relating to stereoscopic depth perception.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA124231
Entities
People
- Arthur Menendez
- Robert Cormack
Organizations
- Vanderbilt University