Richard D. Walk

Emotion and dance in dynamic light displays

Subjects viewed and interpreted a videotape composed of point light displays from figures representing different dances and emotions. Even without cues from the face, the subjects accurately identified the dances and emotions. Discussion includes the influence of labeling, the sound of silence, sex differences in nonverbal recognition, and the alarm hypothesis about priority in recognition of emotions that threaten survival.

The development of visually guided reaching in monkeys reared without sight of the hands

In a modified replication of a study by Held and Bauer, two monkeys were reared without sight of the hands. The animals were taught to reach toward a dowel stick they could see. When the hands were uncovered, neither prolonged hand watching nor inability to reach toward objects was observed. The animals reached toward gross objects on the first day and gradually improved. Thus, visual deprivation of the sight of the hands would not appear to hinder visually guided reaching as much as the Held-Bauer study would indicate.

The Study of Visual Depth and Distance Perception in Animals

Publisher Summary The chapter describes Spaldings pioneer observations methods for the study of space perception in animals, as well as the results with implications for the nature-nurture problem. The aim of the study of depth and distance perception with animals is simply an understanding of space related behavior. To show how depth and distance behavior can be investigated in animals, the chapter discusses: (1) methods of investigating depth and distance perception; (2) the visual stimulus for space perception : the “cues” for space perception in animals are assessed and the results of research cited; (3) a comparative analysis of the depth perception of various species; (4) the effects of dark-rearing on depth and distance perception; and (5) the neurophysiological aspects of space perception. The years of research since Spalding have brought the development of better behavioral techniques, of ways to analyze the effects of lack of stimulation on the visual system, and of many neurophysiological techniques to alter visual input, selectively block it off, or record it.

Concept formation and art: Basic experiment and controls

The experiment tested adult Ss’ ability to learn the concept of an artist’s style. On the pretest Ss were shown colored slides of a painting and guessed the artist. During training new slides paired paintings with the names of artists. On the post-test the original pretest slides and new ones were shown. Ss demonstrated concept learning by improving on the posttest as compared to the pretest. A control group where names were not paired with pictures during training showed no improvement.

Deficit in depth perception of 90-day-old dark-reared rats

Dark- and light-reared 90-day-old hooded rats were tested on the visual cliff. Dark-reared animals preferred the shallow side at 10 in., but not at 4 in., of visual depth. Light-reared controls preferred the shallow at both depths. The results show an impairment in motion discrimination from prolonged rearing without light even though gross depth discrimination remained intact.

Tactual and visual learning of forms differing in degree of symmetry

One group learned to associate nonsense syllables with forms by sight, and then was tested on cross-modal transfer to the same forms using touch. The other group had the opposite procedure. The visual group performed best in learning the symmetrical forms while the tactual group’s best performance was on the less symmetrical forms. Cross-modal transfer of the groups was similar.

Apparatus for the differential visual depth threshold and its determination in the hooded rat

A modification of the visual cliff is described that permits measurement of the differential visual depth threshold, the point of relative indifference in choice of the shallow side as compared to the deep side of the visual cliff as the deep side is brought closer to the glass. All illumination comes from below the glass to permit equal illumination on the two sides. An experiment with the hooded rat showed that its threshold for differential visual depth is with the deep side about 3-1/2 in. below the shallow side of the visual cliff.

Perception of emotion from moving body cues in photographs

To investigate whether the dynamic moving condition in a videotape would transfer to a photograph, we showed subjects still photographs of emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) depicted as points of light in dynamic light displays. Overall recognition was 70.4% with the dynamic light displays, but it dropped to 25.5% with the blurred tracks in the photographs, significantly above a chance level of 16.7%, but not large. Happiness, anger, and sadness were the most accurately recognized. The transfer effect of abstract movement to a still photograph may not be high, but the most active emotions (happiness, anger) and the most inactive one (sadness) do transfer. Our results may have some implications for the artistic rendition of movement in pictures.

Visual placing by human infants

Abstract Prior research has not agreed that extension of the arms by the human infant on approach to a surface is a visual response. In this research, human infants 8 to 11-months-old extended their arms on approach to a patterned surface covered with glass. The arms did not extend to a patterned surface 14 in. below the glass. Thus, the response is a visual, not a vestibular, proprioceptive one. Ambiguity of the visual stimulus that elicits the response is shown by the finding that the infants also extended their arms almost as much to a gray surface just beneath the glass as they did to the patterned one.

The influence of level of illumination and size of pattern on the depth perception of the kitten and the puppy

Amount of illumination and size of pattern on the deep side of the visual cliff were varied during the development of visual depth perception of the kitten and the puppy. Neither amount of illumination or texture size was found to influence choice behavior. The study also presents normative data on visual cliff responding, the visual placing response, and eyeblink to an approaching object for the puppy.