INTERMITTENT LIGHT STIMULATION AND FLICKER SENSATION

Flicker sensation depends on the frequency of the intermittent light stimulus, but the frequency required for a given criterion of flicker sensation shows a marked variability for different occasions with the same observer, or for different observers. This variability was studied using the multiple criterion technique, flicker judgments being obtained from twenty subjects on a number of occasions. In one set of experiments the whole visual field was stimulated, in another a field approximately 20°×30°. Four criteria of flicker sensation were employed including the customary criterion of ‘ just perceptible ’ flicker. The results showed that : (a) Small changes in stimulus frequency cause large differences in the noticeability of flicker and in the sensation of discomfort caused by flicker.. (b) Large changes in stimulus frequency cause little change in the apparent frequency of flicker, which remains constant around 16 c.p.s. (c) As stated above, sensitivity varies markedly both between subjects and betwee...

[1]  M. E. Bitterman,et al.  The effect of fluorescent flicker on visual efficiency. , 1952 .

[2]  Robert H. Peckham,et al.  Vision: A Study of Its Basis , 1943 .

[3]  T. C. Porter.  Contributions to the study of flicker. Paper II , 1902, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.

[4]  E.W. Engstrom,et al.  A Study of Television Image Characteristics , 1933, Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers.

[5]  J. B. Collins,et al.  The influence of characteristics of a fluctuating visual stimulus on flicker sensation. , 1956, Ophthalmologica. Journal international d'ophtalmologie. International journal of ophthalmology. Zeitschrift fur Augenheilkunde.

[6]  S. Goldstone,et al.  Flicker fusion measurements and anxiety level. , 1955, Journal of experimental psychology.

[7]  R. G. Hopkinson.  The Multiple Criterion Technique of Subjective Appraisal , 1950 .

[8]  H. Misiak,et al.  The decrease of critical flicker frequency with age. , 1951, Science.

[9]  J. B. Collins,et al.  The role of a subharmonic in the wave-form of light from a fluorescent lamp in causing complaints of flicker. , 1956, Ophthalmologica. Journal international d'ophtalmologie. International journal of ophthalmology. Zeitschrift fur Augenheilkunde.

[10]  F. H. Perrin,et al.  A study in binocular flicker. , 1954, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[11]  T. C. Porter.  Contribution to the study of ‘flicker’ , 1898, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.

[12]  F H IRELAND,et al.  A comparison of critical flicker frequencies under conditions of monocular and binocular stimulation. , 1950, Journal of experimental psychology.