Perceptual Latency and Complex Random-Dot Stereograms

Abstract

Naïve observers of random-dot stereograms depicting complex surfaces often find that they require several tens of seconds before the impression of depth emerges. With practice, however, perception times often decrease markedly: perceptual learning occurs. Current explanations of these effects were assessed in two experiments. In the first experiment the perception times of naïve observers for random-dot stereograms which depicted the same complex shape but contained different ranges of disparity were measured. In the second experiment the minimum times required by experienced observers to perceive a given complex shape in stereograms that contained different ranges of disparity were determined. Perception times for the naïve observers were all very fast (<3 s) and showed no evidence of perceptual learning. There was no effect of disparity range on perception times in either experiment. It was found that very large-disparity (80 min arc) complex stereograms could be perceived quickly, even by naïve observers. It is concluded that the long initial latencies previously reported are not due to surface complexity nor to the range of disparities present. Other factors, such as dot size, dot density, and the correlation of the stereo images, appear to be important determinants of efficient stereoscopic performance when viewing complex random-dot stereograms.