Sensation of Depth with One Or Two Eyes

Abstract

References in the literature indicate that perception of depth with two eyes is decidedly better than with one eye but there is no empirical evidence to support such statements when the effect of suggestion is controlled. The quality of depth of a three-dimensional scene was judged by 15 Ss, using a paired-comparison technique. The vision in one eye was occluded without S's being informed so that the effect of suggestion was controlled. Ss judged the quality of depth to be significantly better when viewing the scene binocularly than when viewing it monocularly. However, there were marked differences and the monocularly-viewed scene was judged to have equal or better quality of depth on approximately 30% of the trials.