What is Depth Perception? - Definition, Cues & Examples

Depth perception is the ability to see objects in three dimensions and judge their distance in relation to one's own. forTeachers forSchools forWorkingScholars® forCollegeCredit LogIn SignUp Menu forWorkingScholars® forCollegeCredit Plans Plans Courses Courses FindCoursesbySubject Science Math Business Psychology History English SocialScience Humanities Spanish ProfessionalDevelopment ByEducationLevel College HighSchool MiddleSchool TestPrep PopularTests… PopularTests SAT ACT TOEFL GMAT GRE CLEP GED ASVAB RealEstate TeacherCertification… TeacherCertification AEPA CEOE CSET/CBEST FTCE GACE ILTS MTEL MTLE MTTC MoGEA/MEGA NES NYSTCE OAE Praxis RICA TExES VCLA WEST Nursing… NursingTests HESI TEAS NCLEX PAXRN CNE OtherTests… OtherTests AP ASCP ASWB Accuplacer CHSPE CTEL DSST Finance FSA HSPT ISEE MBLEx NCE PERT PHR SHSAT TASC TECEP UExcel Exploreover 4,600 videocourses BrowseAllCourses SAT ACT TOEFL GMAT GRE CLEP GED ASVAB RealEstate AEPA CEOE CSET/CBEST FTCE GACE ILTS MTEL MTLE MTTC MoGEA/MEGA NES NYSTCE OAE Praxis RICA TExES VCLA WEST HESI TEAS NCLEX PAXRN CNE AP ASCP ASWB Accuplacer CHSPE CTEL DSST Finance FSA HSPT ISEE MBLEx NCE PERT PHR SHSAT TASC TECEP UExcel Credit Credit CreditOptions CreditOptions OnlineCollegeCredit HighSchool&GED CertificatesofCompletion HowitWorks TransferCredit TransferCredit AllTransferCredit FindYourSchool CollegeCoursesforCredit TransferringCredit HowItWorks EarnTransferableCredit&GetyourDegreefast Learnmore ContactSupport Copyright LessonTranscript Instructor: StephanieThomas Depthperceptionistheabilitytoseeobjectsinthreedimensionsandjudgetheirdistanceinrelationtoone'sown.Explorethedefinitionandexamplesofdepthperceptionandtwotypesofdepthcues,binocularandmonocular. Updated:10/23/2021 Createanaccount Anerroroccurredtryingtoloadthisvideo. Tryrefreshingthepage,orcontactcustomersupport. YoumustcCreateanaccounttocontinue watching Registertoviewthislesson Areyouastudentorateacher? Iamastudent Iamateacher CreateYourAccountToContinueWatching Asamember,you'llalsogetunlimitedaccesstoover84,000 lessonsinmath,English,science,history,andmore.Plus,getpracticetests,quizzes,andpersonalizedcoachingtohelpyou succeed. Getunlimitedaccesstoover84,000lessons. Tryitnow Itonlytakesafewminutestosetupandyoucancancelanytime. Alreadyregistered?Loginherefor access  Back WhatteachersaresayingaboutStudy.com Tryitnow Alreadyregistered? Loginhereforaccess Comingupnext: ExtrasensoryPerception:Definition,Types&Examples You'reonaroll.Keepupthegoodwork! TakeQuiz Watch NextLesson  Replay Justcheckingin.Areyoustillwatching? Yes!Keepplaying. Yournextlessonwillplayin 10seconds 0:00DepthPerception 1:11BinocularandMonocular 1:38MonocularDepthCues 3:39BinocularDepthCues 5:21LessonSummary Save Save Save Wanttowatchthisagainlater? LoginorsignuptoaddthislessontoaCustomCourse. LoginorSignup Timeline Autoplay Autoplay Speed Speed 50Kviews Video Quiz Course 50K views Weliveina3-dimensionalworld,buteachofoureyesisonlycapableofcapturinga2-dimensionalimage.Getupforasecond,movearound;seehowyouknowwhentoavoidachairortheedgeofatable?That'sbecauseyoucantellhowfarawayobjectsarefromyou.Thisisincrediblyimportantinsomanyways.Wedon'tspendourlivesbruisedfromrunningintofurniture.We'reabletodrive,judgingwhereothercarsareintheroadandknowinghowfastwecango.Thinkofwhenyou'vemisjudgedthefinalsteponaflightofstairs--youassumeditwashigherorlowerthanitreallywas.Imagineifthishappenedallthetime;that'saworldwithoutdepthperception.Depthperceptionissoimportantthatitmaybehard-wiredintoourbrains.Attheveryleast,it'ssomethingwepickupveryearly.InGibsonandWalk'sfamousvisualcliffexperiment,infantsasyoungassixmonthsoldperceivedaPlexiglas-covereddrop-offandapproacheditnervously.Mostrefusedtocross.GibsonandWalkconcludedthattheseinfantscouldindeedperceivethatthedropwasthere,andknewitcouldbedangerousforthem.Buthowdoweturnflatimagesinto3-D?Therearetwomainkindsofdepthcues:binocularandmonocular.Thesewordsreallyjustmean'two-eye'and'one-eye';youcanrememberitbecauseyoulookthroughbinocularswithbotheyes,butaproperEnglishgentlemanholdsupamonocletoonlyoneeye.Basically,therearesomecluestodepththatwecanperceivewithjustoneeyeandothersthatweneedbotheyesfor.Let'sstartwithasimpleexample.Takealookatyourdesk;let'ssayyouhaveastapleronit,aswellasafewoldmugs.Ifyoucanseethatthestapleroverlapsinfrontofoneofthemugs,youcouldguess--accurately--thatthestaplerisclosertoyouthanthemug.Thisisamonoculardepthcuecalledinterposition.Haveyoueverlearnedaboutperspectiveinanartclass?Ifyoutrytodrawaroaddisappearingintothedistance,youhavethelinesconvergeastheyreachthehorizon.Nexttimeyou'reoutonalongstretchofroad,takealook:theroadreallydoesseemtoconvergetoapointasitgetsfurtheraway.Thismonoculardepthcueiscalledlinearperspective;inaflat,2-Dimage,thingsthatarefartherawayseemtogetclosertogether.Theyalsoappearphysicallyhigherup;thisisthepositioncue.Acarthat'sfurtherdowntheroadwillappearsmallerthanthesame-sizedcarnearby;thisisknownasrelativesize. Thingsthatarefartherawayappearclosertogetherandhigherup Ifyoustarteddrivingdownthisroad,youmightnoticethatthethingsclosertoyourcarseemtomovealotfasterthanthingsinthedistance.Thisiscalledthemotionparallax,andevenwithoneeyeclosed,itwouldclueyouintohowfarawaythingsare.Someanimalsrelymoreheavilyonthemotionparallaxthanhumans--haveyoueverseenabirdbobbingitsheadaroundasitlooksstraightahead?Thebirdistryingtoachieveitsownmotionparallaxtotellhowfarawayvariousobjectsare. Adistantbarnalsoprobablylooksfuzzierandlessdistinctthananearbyshed.Thisisanothermonoculardepthcueusedbypainterstosuggestthatsomeobjectsarefartherawaythanothers,andit'scalledthetexturegradient.Youcanseethisreallyclearlyinimageslikeafieldofgrass,wherethebladesnearesttothevieweraredistinctbutfadetoawashofgreeninthedistance.Arelatedideaisaerialperspective,inwhichthingsinthedistanceappearfoggierthanthingsnearby.Whilemonoculardepthcueshelpuslearnthingsaboutthe3-Dworldfromaflatimage,binoculardepthcuesareinvolvedinhelpingourbrainsproduceactual3-Dimagesoutofflatsensoryinput.There'sareasonwehavetwoeyesratherthanonegiganticCyclopseye--twoeyesalittlebitapartfromeachothergeneratetwoslightlydifferentimagestosendtothebrain.Thisisknownasretinaldisparity.Thebrainmergesthesetwoslightlydifferentimagestocreateonethatlooks3-dimensional.3-Dmoviesusethisprincipletoachievetheireffect.Youknowhowifyoutakeoffyour3-Dglassesthemovielooksalittlefuzzy?That'sbecausethereareactuallytwoslightlydifferentimagesonthescreenatonce,andtheglassesfiltertheinputsothatoneeyegetsoneimageandoneeyegetstheother.Thenyourbraindoestherestofthework,puttingittogetherintofull3-D.Overshorterdistances,yourbraincantellhowclosethingsarebasedonsignalsitgetsfromyoureyes'muscles.Foranobjectunder50feetaway,yourbraincantellhowmuchyoureyeshavetoconvergetoseeit.Holdupyourfingerinfrontofyourfaceandlookatit;nowbringitcloser.Asitgetsreallyclose,you'lldefinitelyfeelyoureyescrossmoreandmore;itmightevengetuncomfortable.Thisishappeninginalessextremewayallthetime,andyourbraincancalculatetheconvergenceanglebetweentheeyesanduseittofigureouthowfarawaysomethingis.Thebraincanalsotakeadvantageofyoureyes'lensesabilitytochangetheircurvaturewhenfocusingonparticularobjects;itknowshowmuchthey'vechangedandcanusethistojudgedepthoversmall,nearbydistances.Sotosumthingsup,ourbrainshaveallsortsofcoolwaysofmaking3-Dpicturesoutof2-Dinputs.Thisabilityisimportant,andperhapsevenhard-wiredintous,becauseithelpsusfunctioninour3-Dworld.Thebraincanusemonoculardepthcueslikeperspectiveorthemotionparallax,whichrelyoninputfromoneeyeortheother.Itcanalsousebinoculardepthcues,whichdependontheslightlydifferentimagesourdifferently-positionedeyesbringtothebrainandalsoonhowtheyhavetomovetofocusonobjectsatdifferentdistances. TounlockthislessonyoumustbeaStudy.comMember. Createyouraccount Registertoviewthislesson Areyouastudentorateacher? Iamastudent Iamateacher UnlockYourEducation Seeforyourselfwhy30millionpeopleuseStudy.com BecomeaStudy.commemberandstartlearningnow. BecomeaMember Alreadyamember?LogIn  Back WhatteachersaresayingaboutStudy.com Tryitnow Alreadyregistered? Loginhereforaccess Createanaccount WhatisDepthPerception?-Definition,Cues&Examples Starttoday.Tryitnow Psychology / APPsychology:ExamPrep APPsychology:ExamPrep 18chapters| 200lessons |14 flashcardsets {{courseNav.course.topics.length}}chapters| {{courseNav.course.mDynamicIntFields.lessonCount}}lessons |{{course.flashcardSetCount}} flashcardset{{course.flashcardSetCoun>1?'s':''}} Ch1. APPsychology:HistoryandDevelopment... Goto APPsychology:HistoryandDevelopmentofModernPsychology Ch2. APPsychology:ResearchMethodsUsedin... Goto APPsychology:ResearchMethodsUsedintheStudyofPsychology Ch3. APPsychology:Intelligence... Goto APPsychology:IntelligenceTesting Ch4. APPsychology:Biologyin... Goto APPsychology:BiologyinPsychology Ch5. APPsychology:The5Senses&Psychology IntrotoSensationandPerception 6:11 ReceptorProcesses&SensoryMechanisms 6:44 SensoryCoding:GettingMessagesfromReceptorstoYourBrain 5:38 HowDoesVisionWork? 5:28 WhatisVisualPerception?-Definition&Theory 3:20 MechanicsofHearing&HowtheBrainProcessesSound 5:30 Taste,Touch&Smell:Proprioception&theSomatosensorySystem 4:33 SensoryAdaptation&Habituation:Definition&Examples 5:34 WhatisDepthPerception?-Definition,Cues&Examples 6:01 3:38 NextLesson ExtrasensoryPerception:Definition,Types&Examples SensoryProcessingDisorder:Symptoms&Treatment WhatisVisionImpairment?-Definition,Causes&Symptoms 4:24 WhatisHearingImpairment?-Definition,Causes&Treatment 7:32 Goto APPsychology:The5Senses&Psychology Ch6. APPsychology:SleepandOtherStates... Goto APPsychology:SleepandOtherStatesofConsciousness Ch7. APPsychology:Learning&... Goto APPsychology:Learning&Conditioning Ch8. APPsychology:Memory&... Goto APPsychology:Memory&Cognition Ch9. APPsychology:Emotion Goto APPsychology:Emotion Ch10. APPsychology:Motivationin... Goto APPsychology:MotivationinPsychology Ch11. APPsychology:ChildDevelopmentin... Goto APPsychology:ChildDevelopmentinPsychology Ch12. APPsychology:PersonalityDevelopment... Goto APPsychology:PersonalityDevelopmentandTheories Ch13. APPsychology:StudyofSocial... Goto APPsychology:StudyofSocialPsychology Ch14. APPsychology:Abnormal... Goto APPsychology:AbnormalPsychology Ch15. APPsychology:TypesofPsychological... Goto APPsychology:TypesofPsychologicalDisorders Ch16. APPsychology:TreatmentMethodsfor... Goto APPsychology:TreatmentMethodsforPsychologicalDisorders Ch17. APPsychology:TestStrategy Goto APPsychology:TestStrategy Ch18. 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