Visual Cliff - Psychology Definition of the Week

Definition: A visual cliff involves an apparent, but not actual drop from one surface to another. This tool was originally developed to determine if infants had developed depth perception. A visual cliff is created by connecting a transparent glass surface to an opaque patterned surface. The floor below has the same pattern as the opaque surface. This apparatus creates the visual illusion of a cliff, while protecting the subject from injury. Read more...

More About Perception

• Optical Illusions Gallery
• Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization
• What Are Monocular Cues?

_{Image courtesy Piotr Bizior}