Active and Passive Perceptual Learning in the Visually Impaired

Abstract

Active and passive perceptual training methods were tested with 30 macular degeneration patients to improve their residual vision. Four different measures assessed improvement: a reading test, the Frostig Figure Ground Test (FFG), the Bender-Bestalt Test, and the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue Test (FM-100). Participants were grouped according to two levels of impairment (moderate or severe) and three training conditions (active, passive, and control) in a 2 x 3 multivariate design. It was expected that the training sessions would improve visual task performance, and that active participants would show more improvement than other groups. A multivariate ANOVA found an overall main effect for the learning factor, and univariate tests showed that the active group improved significantly more than the passive and control groups on the FFG test. The main conclusion was that perceptual training may contribute to successful visual adjustment and that the effect of training is not limited to a particular level of visual impairment.