Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Visual cliff
open-in-new
<p>The visual cliff is an apparatus created by psychologists <a href="/facts/Eleanor_J._Gibson/eK2aWzr3">Eleanor J. Gibson</a> and Richard D. Walk at <a href="/facts/Cornell_University/FGyXuXeI">Cornell University</a> to investigate <a href="/facts/Depth_perception/R6FK2z6o">depth perception</a> in human and other animal species. It consists of a sturdy surface that is flat but has the appearance of a several-foot drop part-way across. The visual cliff apparatus allowed them to conduct an experiment in which the optical and tactile stimuli associated with a simulated cliff were adjusted while protecting the subjects from injury. </p><p>Using a visual cliff apparatus, Gibson and Walk examined possible perceptual differences at crawling age between human infants born <a href="/facts/Preterm_birth/szMos8tu">preterm</a> and human infants born at term without documented visual or motor impairments. </p>