Abstract
The present study investigated the possible ecological role of vertical disparity. Specifically, the stereoscopic slant response to vertical magnification of one eye’s view (i.e., the induced effect) was measured as a function of degree of magnification and observation distance. As a control, the stereoscopic response to equivalent amounts of horizontal disparity (i.e., the geometric effect) was measured under the same conditions. Unlike the geometric effect, the induced effect did not vary with observation distance, and at all distances it reached an asymptote at approximately 2% magnification. There was evidence that at very low magnification values the induced effect was greater than the geometric effect. These data are discussed in relation to theories in which the stereoscopic effect of vertical disparity is attributed to the process by which horizontal disparity is scaled for surface eccentricity and distance. The data are consistent with such a theory only if the assumption is made that the scaling effect of vertical disparity is attenuated by conflicting indicators of eccentricity given by convergence. It is argued that direct computational theories, which do not postulate an explicit representation of eccentricity or distance as part of the scaling process, cannot account for the differences obtained between the magnitude of the induced effect and that of the geometric effect.
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This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant BNS 8311613 and carried out while the authors were at the Schnurmacher Institute, Slate University of New York, Slate College of Optometry. The writing was carried out while the senior author was at Oxford University on a Guggenheim Fellowship.
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Gillam, B., Chambers, D. & Lawergren, B. The role of vertical disparity in the scaling of stereoscopic depth perception: An empirical and theoretical study. Perception & Psychophysics 44, 473–483 (1988). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210433
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210433