title: How to use individual differences to isolate functional organization, biology, and utility of visual functions; with illustrative proposals for stereopsis.
abstract: This paper is a call for greater use of individual differences in the basic science of visual perception. Individual differences yield insights into visual perception's functional organization, underlying biological/environmental mechanisms, and utility. I first explain the general approach advocated and where it comes from. Second, I describe five principles central to learning about the nature of visual perception through individual differences. Third, I elaborate on the use of individual differences to gain insights into the three areas mentioned above (function, biology/environment, utility), in each case describing the approach advocated, presenting model examples from the literature, and laying out illustrative research proposals for the case of stereopsis.
authors.affiliation: SUNY State College of Optometry, Vision Sciences, 33 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036, USA. jeremy.wilmer@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jeremy B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Wilmer
mesh_terms: D001695:Biology; D003867:Depth Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D011601:Psychophysics; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*