Viewing Distance and the Aftereffects of Fixation

Abstract

In a previous experiment, a fixated three-dimensional object was shown to recede from the position it held prior to fixation. Since this phenomenon may be accounted for in terms of a visual compensation for the strain of convergence during prolonged fixation, it was expected that fixation of a near figure would result in a greater aftereffect than fixation of a far figure. The results of this study indicated that, while there was a greater frequency of expected aftereffects with the near figures, there was also a greater frequency of reversed aftereffects with the far figures. The latter finding raised problems of an interpretation of the theory under consideration, the implications of which were discussed.