Research on Monocular Depth Perception between 1884 and 1914: Influence of the German Unfallversicherungsgesetz and of the Jurisdiction of the Reichsversicherungsamt

Abstract

The German Unfallversicherungsgesetz (Accident Insurance Law) of 1884 granted annuities to all employees in case of an industrial accident resulting in a partial or permanent disability. The amount of the annuity was to be assessed “according to the remaining working capacity”. The application of this requirement of the law to the loss of one eye influenced the research on monocular depth perception, in particular by providing impetus to research into adaptation to monocularity during the following thirty years. The failure of this research to produce unequivocal results and a decision of the Reichsversicherungsamt (German Insurance Board) restricting its own jurisdiction put an end to this line of research.