Joseph Anderson

Binocular integration in line rivalry

Three experiments investigated the frequency of a monocular, partial binocular, or nearly total binocular report of dichoptically presented stimuli in a line rivalry paradigm. The consistently important variable was the duration of the presentation time of the stimuli, which ranged from 50 to 1,100 msec, with each experiment covering only a portion of these times. Variations in equipment, instructions, response mode, light intensity, and position in the visual field were introduced. The main result was a report of fusion of the binocular inputs, with little or no suppression for about 40% to about 80% of the foveal presentations of 100 msec or less, the percentage varying over the three experiments. Partial fusion (some, but not all, lines crossed) was indicated in another 40% or more of the reports. Lateral positioning of the stimuli 6 deg from the fixation point, but not at 3 deg or less, resulted mainly in reports of monocular inputs. The possibility, and serious implication for studies of rivalry phenomena, of range effects (Poulton) from the within-subjects variation of duration of stimuli was noted.

Motion Perception in Motion Pictures

Historians and theorists of the motion picture who have felt obliged to provide some explanation of how the illusion of motion on the screen is perceived have, almost without exception, relied upon a phenomenon they have termed ‘persistence of vision’. The notion is ubiquitous in film literature. Credit for its discovery may be attributed to different sources, and the details of the process vary slightly from one account to the next, but ‘persistence of vision’ in one form or another is invariably proffered as the basis of filmic illusion.

Visualization and Verbalization As Mediators of Thought.

The relative effectiveness of visualization and verbalization as mediators of thought was investigated in two experiments. It was found that when subjects were required to pass on verbal instructions, they performed better in the presence of a visual referent. Subjects who were required to overtly visualize (draw) during a discrimination learning task performed as well on a subsequent transposition task as subjects who were required to overtly verbalize (talk). Both groups performed better than a control group which was not required to overtly visualize or verbalize.

What's in a flicker film?

Artists and others viewed a relatively simple flicker film (a film alternating light with dark groups of frames) and reproduced what they “saw.” Their drawings bore a remarkable resemblance to mandala patterns, though most viewers had not previously heard of such structures. The authors speculate on the physiological determinants of this phenomenon and offer a filmography of available flicker films.