Abstract
In this paper we investigated the relation between personality and the rate of perceptual alternations during binocular rivalry. Studies have demonstrated that slower rivalry alternations are associated with a range of clinical conditions. It is less clear whether rivalry dynamics similarly co-vary with individual differences in psychological traits seen across non-clinical population. We assessed rivalry rates in a non-clinical population (n = 149) and found slower rivalry alternations were positively related r(149) = 0.20, p = 0.01 to industriousness, a trait characterized by a high level of self-discipline using the Big Five Aspect Scales (BFAS). Switch rates were also negatively related r(149) = −0.20, p = 0.01 to cognitive disorganization, a schizotypy trait capturing schizophrenia-like symptoms of disorganization using the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE). Furthermore, we showed that that these relations with personality were unaffected by the inclusion or exclusion of mixed percept in the response analysis. Together these results are relevant to theoretical models of rivalry investigating individual differences in rivalry temporal dynamics and they may reduce concerns about the impact of task compliance in clinical research using rivalry as a potential diagnostic tool.
Highlights
Under normal viewing conditions each of our eyes accesses a slightly different image of the world
Because multiple comparisons were used to test the relationship between personality traits and mean percept duration, it was necessary to control for type I errors
With respect to Big Five personality traits, a signification positive correlation was found between Industriousness and percept duration rs(149) = 0.20, p = 0.01
Summary
Under normal viewing conditions each of our eyes accesses a slightly different image of the world. A completely different perceptual experience can be induced when two incompatible images are presented to each eye simultaneously Under these conditions observers typically experience a phenomenon known as binocular rivalry (Wheatstone, 1838). During binocular rivalry one’s perceptual experience will alternate over time, despite the physical stimulus remaining constant, as the two visual representations rival one another for exclusive dominance (for review see Blake and Logothetis, 2002). These perceptual alternations have been described as a stochastic phenomenon, with individuals alternating on average every 1–2 s (Levelt, 1967).
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