Psychology 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Visual Acuity, Retinal Ganglion Cell, Spatial Frequency

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Corey Isaacs

Document Summary

The question addressed in the study is how easily and to what degree can horses. Visual acuity in the horse learn to discriminate visually. This was tested using behavioural and psychophysical methods. The researchers hypothesized that the density of retinal ganglion cells limits the resolution acuity of horses. To test this, an experiment was performed on horses, with the independent variable being the spatial frequency of the stimuli shown to the horses. The dependent variable was the acuity in percentage of correct responses. Three animals were trained to familiarize the animals with the testing apparatus and to teach them three different discriminations: white vs. black, low frequency grating vs. black and low frequency grating vs. grey. A threshold estimate of visual acuity was then measured using a method of limits. After a correct response by the horse, the procedure continued until the horse made a mistake.