The extent to which binocular rivalry phases are sequentially related was assessed by the A statistic and by autocorrelation. Both measures indicate that the duration of successive phases are independent. The frequency distributions of suppression phases and of nonsuppression phases can be fitted by gamma distributions. These results are consistent with models of the rivalry process that incorporate independence assumptions.Upon differential stimulation of each eye field the state of cooperation between the eyes gives way to a cyclic alternation of phenomenal dominance and suppression known as binocular rivalry. First the stimulus in one monocular field is seen for several seconds while the stimulus in the other field is not visible; then the cycle reverses and the formerly visible field is suppressed and its partner is dominant. The alternations continue as long as the incongruent targets stimulate the eyes.Rivalry is a well known and easily demonstrable phenomenon that is involved significantly in the general problem of binocular vision. Despite an abundance of empirical data, an adequate theoretical account of the mechanisms underlying riValry has not yet been developed (Fox, 1963(Fox, , 1966 Levelt, 1965; Whittle, 1963).The purpose of this experiment is to estimate the extent to which the durations of suppression and nonsuppression phases are sequentially dependent; t.e., whether the temporal length (t) of phase a influences t of any phase (a+1, ••• ,a+n, .•• ). There are both empirical and theoretical reasons for posing this question. It is important empirically because an explicit analysis of sequential relationships has not yet been performed, although indirect support for several alternative hypotheses regarding dependency can be found in the literature. The theoretical relevance bears upon the distinction between two general classes of models of the rivalry process that can be entertained at the present time.One class involves assumptions that posit a mechanism that controls the duration of rivalry phases through some kind of central program. A specific example would be a model that employs a scanning device which periodically switches between the eyes. From models of this kind one would anticipate that successive durations of suppression and nonsuppression phases would be dependent, and, further, that the form of the dependency would reveal something about the nature of the Control mechanism.The second class of models employs assumptions that support the hypothesis of temporal independence of the durations of successive suppression and nonsuppression phases; i.e., the control process utilizes random or autonomous factors to determine duration. One example of this kind of model is one which attributes suppression and nonsuppression states to random variations in the strength of the monocular targets. A second example is a model (Fox, 1963(Fox, . 1966 which assumes that suppression is produced by an inhibitory process which blocks transmission of the monocular signal, the duration of each suppression ph...
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