Culture and the development of vision

Given Chinese ethnographic data, a model of a style of visual performance was predicted. The prediction was that the style would be "inwardizing". Inwardizing was related to individual styles of social behavior as observed in optometric offices. A complete 21-point optometric examination was performed on Chinese subjects and the results were compared to a control group of American subjects. Throughout the optometric examination the Chinese subjects displayed the predicted pattern of inwardizing visual performance. That physiologically measurable patterns of visual performance could be predicted on the basis of ethnographic data gives experimental support to the anthropological assumption of reciprocity between biology and culture. The discovery of a culturally determined pattern of visual performance beyond the work already done with various isolated refractive conditions and the observed relationship of this to patterns of social behavior pose interesting tasks for anthropology, optometry and other professions. First, there is need for further investigation of 1) the role of culture in determining visual performance and 2) the relationship of visual performance patterns to social behavior, beyond that which has already been done, for example, with myopia and hyperopia. Then there is need to incorporate these new areas of knowledge into all fields dealing with human behavior.