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Depth Perception
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• Depth perception deals with the ability to
see the environment in three dimensions
and estimate distances of objects from
us and from each other.
• It is critical for our survival, as it helps us
to navigate effectively around and
function in the world.
.
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• Without the perception of depth, it would
be impossible for us to tell how far
objects are from us, and how much we
need to cover to reach them or avoid
them.
• Our ability to perceive depth includes
space perception, or ability to perceive
differential distances of objects in space
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Amity Institute of Psychology & Allied Sciences
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• Depth perception is the visual ability to
perceive the world in
three dimensions (3D) and the distance
of an object
• Depth perception can be perceived
under two broad classes of cues namely
monocular cues (using one eye), and
binocular cues (using both eyes).
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Amity Institute of Psychology & Allied Sciences
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• A cue is nothing but visual cue; which
implies the sensory cues received by the
eye by way of light and giving a visual
perception. As visual system is dominant
in many species, especially humans.
• Visual cues form a source of information
for humans helping them decide how the
surroundings are to be perceived or
seen
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Amity Institute of Psychology & Allied Sciences
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• Monocular cues can be represented in
just two dimensions and observed with
just one eye.
• Binocular cues are based on the receipt
of sensory information in three
dimensions from both eyes .
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i). Monocular cues can provide depth
information when viewing a scene with
one eye, and include:
– Motion parallax: This effect can be seen
clearly when driving in a car. Nearby
things pass quickly, while far off objects
appear stationary.
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– Perspective: An example would be standing on a
straight road, looking down the road, and seeing
the road narrow as it goes off in the distance.
– Aerial perspective: Images seem blurrier the
farther away they are.
– Overlap or interposition: If one object partially
blocks the view of another object, it is perceived
as being closer.
– Texture gradient: The texture of an object can be
seen clearly when close-by, but becomes less and
less apparent the farther away the object is.
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ii). Binocular cues provide depth information
when viewing a scene with both eyes, and include:
– Stereopsis or retinal disparity: By using two
images of the same scene obtained from slightly
different angles (right and left eyes), the brain can
calculate depth in the visual scene providing a
major means of depth perception.
– Convergence: This is the simultaneous inward
movement of both eyes toward each other when
viewing an object, stretching the eye muscles and
helping in depth/distance perception.
Amity Institute of Psychology & Allied Sciences
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Visual Cliff
Experiment
Gibson and Walk (1960)
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• Gibson and Walk (1960) investigated the
ability of newborn animals and human infants
to detect depth.
• Gibson and Walk tested whether youngsters
would crawl over an apparent cliff - if the
neonates did it could be assumed that the
ability to see depth was not inborn.
• If they did not, this would support a nativist
view - that perceptual abilities are innate.
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• Their apparatus consisted of a 'bridge'
either side of which was a sturdy glass
platform.
• One side of this had a chequered
pattern immediately under the glass (the
'shallow side'). On the other side of the
bridge was a 'cliff' - the chequered
pattern was beneath a vertical drop.
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Experiment 1
• Sample: 36 infants ranging in age from
six months to 14 months. Their mother
also participated in the experiment.
• The independent variable (IV) was
whether the infant was called by its mother
from the cliff side or the shallow side (of
the visual cliff apparatus).
•
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• The dependent variable (DV) was
whether or not the child would crawl to
its mother.
• This was a repeated measures design
because the infant was called from both
the cliff side and the shallow side of the
apparatus.
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Experiment 2
• Using the same apparatus, Gibson and
Walk tested chicks, lambs and kids (young
goats) all less than 24 hours old.
• The studies using other species are
quasi (laboratory) experiments. The
naturally occurring independent variable
(IV) was the animal species e.g. rat / chick
/ lamb / kitten.
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• The dependent variable (DV) was whether the
animal preferred the shallow side or the deep
side of the visual cliff apparatus
• They also used an adjustable floor on the
deep side of the cliff so that the test could start
with it in the high (and therefore safe) position
but could be suddenly lowered once the
animal was on it. This gave them the
opportunity to observe the animal's response
and to see whether it learned from the
experience of not 'falling downwards.' 22
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• Other species were also tested, including rats
(which were additionally tested with a raised
bridge) and kittens, which were several weeks
old before they could be tested. Some kittens
were tested after being reared in the dark.
• The rats were also tested with apparatus
providing fewer visual cues by replacing the
chequered pattern with a uniform grey surface
to see whether the pattern was essential to
perceiving depth.
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Conclusion
•As the infants were able to detect the danger
from the 'cliff' side, Gibson and Walk concluded
that their depth perception might be innate - it
was at least present as soon as they could
crawl.
•However, as human infants take several
months to crawl it is possible that they had
learned their ability to perceive depth during this
time. The second experiment aimed to explore
this possibility using animals. 24
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• Animals are able to judge depth as soon as
they are mobile, whether that is immediately
after birth/hatching or somewhat later.
Although this is dependent on visual
experience (ie being kept in the light) the time
taken to recover from this deprivation is very
short compared to the length of deprivation.
• Together, the findings suggest that depth
perception is an innate process.
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• The survival of any species requires that
its members develop depth
discrimination by the time they take up
independent locomotion, whether this be
at one day (the chick and the goat),
three to four weeks (the rat and the cat)
or six to 10 months (the human infant).
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