Abstract
Successive durations of binocular rivalry are sequentially independent, random variables. To explore the underlying control process, we perturbed the cycle during a 30-sec viewing period by immediately forcing an eye to return to dominance whenever it became suppressed. During this period of forced dominance, that eye’s individual dominance durations were unusually brief, but immediately following the period of forced dominance that eye’s suppression durations were unusually long. However, no long-term change in the sequential pattern of rivalry occurred, and the stochastic independence of successive durations was maintained during and following the period of forced dominance. The same pattern of results was obtained with even longer periods of forced dominance. These results are consistent with the existence of a short-term adaptation, or fatigue, process responsible for transitions from dominance to suppression.
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This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants EY07760 and EY00590. Portions of this work were described at the 1989 meetings of the Psychonomic Society in Atlanta, GA.
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Blake, R., Westendorf, D. & Fox, R. Temporal perturbations of binocular rivalry. Perception & Psychophysics 48, 593–602 (1990). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211605
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211605