The Effects of Eye And Object Color

on Peripheral Vision

Daniella Fasciano

Rationale

To find out if eye color and/or object color influence a person’s peripheral vision

To further understand the vision process and what the eye is attracted to

Question

Does eye color and object color influence a person’s peripheral vision?

Background InformationThe eye is a light-detecting organ that allows vertebrate and

invertebrate animals and humans to see and perceive reflections

The many structures of the eye include the iris, lens, retina, and the cornea

The eye must go through the vision process in order to perceive an image

“The retina is responsible for detecting the light and sending impulses to the brain through the optic nerve” (Szaflarski, 2010 ¶ 6)

The retina consists of two types of cells: rod cells and cone cells

The fovea is the center of gaze, and peripheral vision focuses on the objects outside the fovea

“Peripheral Vision is side vision; vision elicited by stimuli falling on retinal areas distant from the macula” (Mills, 2007, ¶ 3)

The iris is part of the eye that consists of color and is attached to muscles that change its shape and allow light to pass through the pupil

Hypothesis

If peripheral vision is tested in many people, than both eye color and object color will influence a person’s peripheral vision.

Procedure1.Obtain a .305 meter by .610 meter piece of cardboard and cut the board to make a

.305 meter half circle. Cut a smaller semi circle in the middle of the board about 1.905 cm in diameter for your nose.

2.Place the pushpin at the base of the board on the edge of the curve to be the focal point or fovea.

3.The pushpin should be directly across the nose hole. Glue the small plastic cup to the bottom of the board to serve

as a handle.

4.On the board, label angles starting at the focal point at which objects will be measured when they are seen in your

peripheral vision.

5.Obtain the tester and hold it up to your face with your nose in the center hole.

6.Have a partner hold the five shapes or objects of red, blue, green, black and white at the base of the tester. Move

the objects around one at a time as you stare at the focus point.

7.Test at what angles you are able to see the different objects and what colors are easiest to see. Record the angles

at which the objects were seen. The larger the angle from the focus point, the better your peripheral vision.

8.Test if certain eye colors or object colors have an effect on peripheral vision by performing this experiment on

multiple people of the same age, gender and race.

Peripheral Vision Tester

VariablesIndependent Variable

Eye Color

Object Color

Dependent Variable

Greatest Angle at Which Object was Seen

Control

Focus Point (Red Pinpoint)

Constants

Object, object colors, red pinpoint, peripheral vision tester, person testing participants

Blue Brown Hazel GreenEye Color

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Blue Green Red White Black Object Color

Gre

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ConclusionIf peripheral vision was tested, than eye color and object color would affect it

Although object color does influence how well the object can bee seen in peripheral vision, eye color does not

The blue object was slightly easier to see than the rest of the objects especially the white which was the hardest to be seen

There is no significant difference between the eye colors and their accuracy in peripheral vision

Sources of Error

The color of the board was the same color as one of the objects

The location of each of the tests varied and could have varied the results

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