The Effects of Eye And Object Color on Peripheral Vision

1. The Effects of Eye And Object Color on Peripheral Vision • Daniella Fasciano

2. Rationale • To find out if eye color and/or object color influence a person’s peripheral vision • To further understand the vision process and what the eye is attracted to

3. Question • Does eye color and object color influence a person’s peripheral vision?

4. Background Information • The eye is a light-detecting organ that allows vertebrate and invertebrate animals and humans to see and perceive reflections • The many structures of the eye include the iris, lens, retina, and the cornea • The eye must go through the vision process in order to perceive an image • “The retina is responsible for detecting the light and sending impulses to the brain through the optic nerve” (Szaflarski, 2010 ¶ 6) • The retina consists of two types of cells: rod cells and cone cells • The fovea is the center of gaze, and peripheral vision focuses on the objects outside the fovea • “Peripheral Vision is side vision; vision elicited by stimuli falling on retinal areas distant from the macula” (Mills, 2007, ¶ 3) • The iris is part of the eye that consists of color and is attached to muscles that change its shape and allow light to pass through the pupil

5. Hypothesis • If peripheral vision is tested in many people, than both eye color and object color will influence a person’s peripheral vision.

6. Procedure • Obtain a .305 meter by .610 meter piece of cardboard and cut the board to make a .305 meter half circle. Cut a smaller semi circle in the middle of the board about 1.905 cm in diameter for your nose. • Place the pushpin at the base of the board on the edge of the curve to be the focal point or fovea. • The pushpin should be directly across the nose hole. Glue the small plastic cup to the bottom of the board to serve as a handle. • On the board, label angles starting at the focal point at which objects will be measured when they are seen in your peripheral vision. • Obtain the tester and hold it up to your face with your nose in the center hole. • Have a partner hold the five shapes or objects of red, blue, green, black and white at the base of the tester. Move the objects around one at a time as you stare at the focus point. • Test at what angles you are able to see the different objects and what colors are easiest to see. Record the angles at which the objects were seen. The larger the angle from the focus point, the better your peripheral vision. • Test if certain eye colors or object colors have an effect on peripheral vision by performing this experiment on multiple people of the same age, gender and race.

7. Peripheral Vision Tester

8. Variables • Independent Variable • Eye Color • Object Color • Dependent Variable • Greatest Angle at Which Object was Seen • Control • Focus Point (Red Pinpoint) • Constants • Object, object colors, red pinpoint, peripheral vision tester, person testing participants

9. Greatest Angle at Which Objects Were Seen (Degrees) Blue Brown Hazel Green Eye Color

10. Greatest Angle at Which Objects Were Seen (Degrees) Blue Green Red White Black Object Color

11. Conclusion • If peripheral vision was tested, than eye color and object color would affect it • Although object color does influence how well the object can bee seen in peripheral vision, eye color does not • The blue object was slightly easier to see than the rest of the objects especially the white which was the hardest to be seen • There is no significant difference between the eye colors and their accuracy in peripheral vision

12. Sources of Error • The color of the board was the same color as one of the objects • The location of each of the tests varied and could have varied the results

13. References Brown, A. M., Lindsey, D. T., & Guckes, K. M. (2011, October 5). Color names, color categories, and color-cued visual search: Sometimes, color perception is not categorical. Journal of Vision, 11(12). doi:10.1167/‌11.12.2 Dowshen, S. (2009, November). Your Eyes. In Parts of the Eye. Retrieved 2011, from kidshealth database. Haddrill, M. (2000). Peripheral Vision Loss. In All About Vision. Retrieved March, 2011, from Access Media Group website: http://www.allaboutvision.com/‌conditions/‌peripheral-vision.htm Larson, A. M., & Loschky, L. C. (2009, September 9). The Contributions of Central Versus Peripheral Vision to Scene Gist Recognition. A Journal of Vision, 9(10), 1-8. doi:10.1167/‌9.10.6 Maruyama, M. (2004, March). Polyocular Vision or Subunderstanding? Peripheral Vision, 25(3). doi:10.1177/‌0170840604043001 Mills, R., & Huchinson, T. (2007). Eye Anatomy. In EyeCare America. Retrieved from EyeCare America database. Murray, M. A. (2009). Our Sense of Sight. In Eye Anatomy and Function. Retrieved from http://faculty.washington.edu/‌chudler/‌eyetr.html Parker, S. (2004). Eyes and Seeing. In Human Body (pp. 52-53). New York: DK Publishing, Inc. Salvin, J. (2011, July). Eyes. In Eyes: Small But Mighty. Retrieved from The Nemours Foundation website: http://kidshealth.org/‌teen/‌your_body/‌body_basics/‌eyes.html# Science of Seeing. (2005). Peripheral Vision. Retrieved from Eye-Therapy.com database. Szaflarski, D. M. (2010, January 1). Access Excellence Classic Collection. In How We See: The First Steps of Human Vision. Retrieved from The National Health Museum website: http://www.accessexcellence.org/‌AE/‌AEC/‌CC/‌vision_background.php