Despite centuries of research on the topic, the answer to the question "'Are two eyes significantly better than one, independent of stereopsis?" is still uncertain. In this investigation, steps are taken toward answering the question in a behavioral context. Three sets of experiments are reported in which human binocular and monocular performance are compared in a variety of exteroceptive and visuomotor tasks. In all of the experiments, two eyes facilitated performance. The findings suggest that the binocular system is able to detect the matching information, that is, the concordance, in the monocular optic arrays and to use that information to increase visual efficiency. Furthermore, stereopsis was not found to be important in the performance of visuomotor skills in three dimensions when the subjects were free to move their heads. Thus, the results indicate that an important ecological benefit of binocular frontal vision is having binocular concordance, rather than having binocular disparity.

The senses considered as perceptual systems

Why two eyes are better than one: The two views of binocular vision.

Verbal and nonverbal communication are seen in terms of interacting streams of spontaneous and symbolic communication, and posed “pseudo-spontaneous” displays. Spontaneous communication is defined as the nonintentional communication of motivational-emotional states based upon biologically shared nonpropositional signal systems, with information transmitted via displays. Symbolic communication is the intentional communication, using learned, socially shared signal systems, of propositional information transmitted via symbols. Pseudospontaneous communication involves the intentional and strategic manipulation of displays. An original meta-analysis demonstrates that, like verbal symbolic communication, nonverbal analogic (pantomimic) communication is related to left hemisphere cerebral processing. In contrast, spontaneous communication is related to the right hemisphere. A general theory of communication should account for the natural biologically based aspects of communication as well as its learned and symbolically structured aspects. Further, such a general theory should include a feedback process—explanations of message production alone or message reception alone, although potentially useful, are incomplete. A corollary of these two criteria is that a general theory of communication should account for the coevolution of symbolic and nonsymbolic feedback processes and their integration into systems of communication characteristic of the human species. Whereas the explication of such a general theory is beyond the scope of this article, developmental interactionist theory (Buck, 1984, 1989, 1994) does aim to offer such an integrated view. The current article poses how developmental interactionist theory deals with the topic of this special issue of Journal of Communication—the relationship between verbal and nonverbal communication.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication: Distinguishing Symbolic, Spontaneous, and Pseudo-Spontaneous Nonverbal Behavior

Symbol manipulation: Alternatives to the computational view of mind

Chapter 12 – Timbre Perception and Auditory Object Identification

The brain is a particular kind of physical object that has the property of making within itself representations of the outside world. These representations exist in transient bursts of energy that constitute the objective aspect of mental images. The representations are shaped by sensory input; following on sequential transformations they serve to shape motor activity and to predict future sensory input. The task of the physiologist is to describe the material substrates of these representations, their physical locations and patterns, and the operations by which they are constructed and transformed in the brain. In short, what are the physical forms of mental images, and how does the brain make them?

The senses considered as perceptual systems

Citations

Why two eyes are better than one: The two views of binocular vision.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication: Distinguishing Symbolic, Spontaneous, and Pseudo-Spontaneous Nonverbal Behavior

Symbol manipulation: Alternatives to the computational view of mind

Chapter 12 – Timbre Perception and Auditory Object Identification

A Physiological Hypothesis of Perception

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