Laterality Differences in Perception

Abstract

The subject of this thesis is laterality differences in perception. The term "laterality difference" refers to an asymmetry in report accuracy for stimuli presented about the center of a person's visual field. A discussion of the literature and experimental findings relevant to this topic is first given. This is followed by a detailed analysis of eight experiments which examine the effects of a number of variables on laterality differences. The main conclusion drawn from these experiments is that perceptual laterality differences are a function of acquired. Reading habits, the structural characteristics of the stimuli, and the order in which the stimuli are reported. To a lesser extent, they are also related to certain other factors such as differential eye sensitivity and handedness. An interpretation in terms of a "post-exposure trace-scanning" hypothesis is given to account for the experimental findings.