Visual Cliff - Psychology Definition of the Week

Definition: A visual cliff is a type of tool that was originally designed by developmental psychologists to study whether or not an infant has depth perception. It involves connecting a transparent glass surface to an opaque patterned one in order to create an apparent but not actual drop. This creates the illusion of a cliff, while protecting the child from injury.

Learn more about how this tool is used in psychology research in this definition of a visual cliff.

More About Perception

• Optical Illusions Gallery
• Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization
• What Are Monocular Cues?

_{Image courtesy Piotr Bizior}