Abstract
Temporal uncertainty, target movement, and background movement degrade contrast sensitivity, grating acuity, and reaction time. The results are interpreted on the basis of fixational instability, processing efficiency, and alertness. Alternative explanations based on masking are also considered. The variables used in this study may be predictive of performance outside the laboratory, inasmuch as they simulate conditions frequently associated with demanding visual tasks encountered in nonlaboratory environments.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bowling, A. (1985a). The effects of peripheral movement and flicker on the detection thresholds of sinusoidal gratings.Perception & Psychophysics,37, 181–188.
Bowling, A. (1985b). The effects of the contrast, spatial frequency, and temporal frequency of a surrounding field upon the detection thresholds of gratings.Perception & Psychophysics,38, 387–391.
Breitmeyer, B. G. (1980). Unmasking visual masking: A look at the “why” behind the veil of the “how”.Psychological Review,87, 52–69.
Breitmeyer, B. G., &Valberg, A. (1979). Local, foveal inhibitory effects of global, peripheral excitation.Science,203, 463–465.
Breitmeyer, B. G., Valberg, A., Kurtenbach, W., &Neumeyer, C. (1980). The lateral effect of oscillation of peripheral luminance gratings on the foveal increment threshold.Vision Research,20, 799–805.
Campbell, F., &Green, D. (1965). Optical and retinal factors affecting visual resolution.Journal of Physiology (London),181, 576–593.
Cheng, M., &Outerbridge, J. S. (1975). Optokinetic nystagmus during selective retinal stimulation.Experimental Brain Research,23, 129–139.
Cohn, T. E. (1981). Absolute threshold: Analysis in terms of uncertainty.Journal of the Optical Society of America,71, 783–785.
Collewijn, H., &Tamminga, E. P. (1984). Human smooth and saccadic eye movements during voluntary pursuit of different target motions on different backgrounds.Journal of Physiology,351, 217–250.
Derrington, A. M. (1984). Spatial frequency selectivity of remote pattern masking.Vision Research,24, 1965–1968.
Earle, D. C., &Lowe, G. (1971). Channel, temporal, and composite uncertainty in the detection and recognition of auditory and visual signals.Perception & Psychophysics,9, 177–181.
Ejima, Y., &Takahashi, S. (1983). Effects of high-contrast peripheral patterns on the detection threshold of sinusoidal targets.Journal of the Optical Society of America,73, 1695–1700.
Geisler, W. S. (1984). Physical limits of acuity and hyperacuity.Journal of the Optical Society of America,1, 775–782.
Geisler, W. S., &Davila, K. D. (1985). Ideal discriminators in spatial vision: Two-point stimuli.Journal of the Optical Society of America,2, 1483–1497.
Gippenreiter, Y. B., &Romanov, V. Y. (1974). A method of investigation of the internal form of visual acuity. In R. B. MacLeod & H. L. Pick (Eds.),Perception: Essays in honor of James J. Gibson (pp. 227–249). New York: Cornell University Press.
Kelly, D. H. (1979). Motion and vision: II. Stabilized spatio-temporal threshold surface.Journal of the Optical Society of America,69, 1340–1349.
Lasley, D. J., &Cohn, T. (1981). Detection of a luminance increment: Effect of temporal uncertainty.Journal of the Optical Society of America,71, 845–850.
MacKay, D. M. (1970a). Elevation of visual threshold by displacement of retinal image.Nature,225, 90–92.
MacKay, D. M. (1970b). Interocular transfer of suppressive effects of retinal image displacement.Nature,225, 872–873.
Marrocco, R. T., Carpenter, M. A., &Wright, S. E. (1985). Spatial contrast sensitivity: Effects of peripheral field stimulation during monocular and dichoptic viewing.Vision Research,25, 917–924.
McIlwain, J. T. (1964). Receptive fields of optic tract axons and lateral geniculate cells: Peripheral extent and barbiturate sensitivity.Journal of Neurophysiology,27, 1154–1173.
McIlwain, J. T. (1966). Some evidence concerning the physiological basis of the periphery effect in cat’s retina.Experimental Brain Research,1, 265–271.
Murphy, B. J. (1978). Pattern thresholds for moving and stationary gratings during smooth eye movements,Vision Research,18, 521–530.
Pachella, R. G. (1974). The interpretation of reaction time in information-processing research. In B. H. Kantowitz (Ed.),Human information processing: Tutorials in performance and cognition. Potomac, MD: Erlbaum.
Post, R. B., &Leibowitz, H. W. (1985). A revised analysis of the role of efference in motion perception.Perception,14, 631–643.
Robinson, D. A. (1981). Control of eye movements. In V. B. Brooks (Ed.),Handbook of physiology: Vol. 2, Pt. 2. The nervous system (pp. 1275–1320). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Sheehy, J. B. (1984). Dynamic resolution. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
Valberg, A., &Breitmeyer, B. (1980). The lateral effect of oscillation of peripheral luminance gratings: Test of various hypotheses.Vision Research,20, 789–798.
Wertheim, A. (1980). Information processed in ocular pursuit. In G. E. Stelmach & J. Requin (Eds.),Tutorials in motor behavior. New York: North-Holland.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by Grant EY03276 from the National Eye Institute and Grant N62269-85-R-0285 from the Office of Naval Research. We are grateful to Gordon Shulman and Naoyuki Osaka for comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gish, K.W., Sheehy, J.B. & Leibowitz, H.W. Decreased visual performance resulting from temporal uncertainty, target movement, and background movement. Perception & Psychophysics 44, 142–150 (1988). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208706
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208706