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Depth perception definition psychology9/20/2023 Some babies refused to walk across the visual cliff. What happened when the babies were put to the task of walking across the cliff? There isn’t one solid answer. Even when researchers studied animals, they found that motivation isn’t as simple as what you see. Rats weren’t hesitant to run across the glass cliff, as they rely on smell and touch more than vision. The kittens that were raised in the dark were less likely to have developed depth perception than the ones raised in the light. Researchers also took note of whether some of the participants were raised in the dark or raised in the light. These early studies suggested that depth perception was innate in most animals – even the youngest participants might avoid crossing the “visual cliff” and stay on the side that appeared to be safer.īut the results of this study, like the results of the studies focused around infants, aren’t so cut and dry. These animals included participants who were just a day old. Like babies, researchers used infant animals. In order to get a wider perspective on the development of depth perception, researchers conducted a similar version of the visual cliff experiment with animals. If the baby was hesitant, thought the researchers, then it was presumed that the baby could perceive the depth and was scared to fall off the visual cliff. If the baby were to crawl to the mother, they would have to make a decision about whether or not to cross the visual cliff. The researchers put the baby on the side with the first side of the Plexiglass and their mother on the other side. The way that the experiment was set up gave the illusion of a visual “cliff” without putting the babies in danger. With depth perception, things get tricky. They would see the pattern as continuous and could walk freely over the Plexiglass without fear. The pattern continued on the floor below the plexiglass.īabies or animals without depth perception may not perceive the depth between the two blocks of the tiled pattern. The other side of the plexiglass was left as it is – completely transparent. One side of the plexiglass was covered in a tiled pattern that you might see on any floor. The psychologists developed a test in which babies were placed on a large table of Plexiglass that was about a foot off the ground. How Did the Visual Cliff Experiment Work? Walk put together the visual cliff experiment, which was used to measure depth perception in infants. Who Conducted the Visual Cliff Experiment? What does the visual cliff phenomenon suggest about the nature versus nurture debate in human development? The results of the experiment, the researchers believed, could show if there was a certain age in which depth perception was learned or whether it was a skill present in every child that was born. Are our skills learned, or are they set in stone through genetics? Are our fears learned, or are we doomed to have certain fears due to our family history?įor this reason, researchers chose to work with infants of varying ages as well as baby animals: rats, calves, and cats. This speaks to one of the biggest debates in psychology: nature vs. The researchers behind this experiment wanted to learn whether or not depth perception, or our ability to perceive three dimensions, is an innate skill or something that is learned. What Is the Purpose of the Visual Cliff Experiment? The visual cliff experiment is a great look into how the fear of heights develops and how psychologists used different forms of research to observe that development. The 1960 Visual Cliff experiment is the most famous look at how depth perception develops. Visual Cliff Experiment Conclusion What Is the Visual Cliff Experiment?
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