Sufficient conditions for the discrimination of motion

Abstract

When one half of a randomly contoured pattern is displaced in one of four directions between successive exposures, Ss are capable of discriminating the direction of the displacement. Accuracy of discriminating decreases as a function of the relative displacement within the pattern, independent of the visual angle subtended by the pattern. Supplementary data suggest that Ss are unrealistically confident in the accuracy of their discrimination. The results demonstrate that identification of specific contours is not necessary for the discrimination of motion and suggest that some type of correlational process is employed by the visual system in dealing with spatially and temporally displaced patterns. © 1973 Psychonomic Society, Inc.