Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Visualizing Visual Adaptation
Published on: April 24, 2017
Fundamentally misunderstanding visual perception. Adults' belief in visual emissions
Gerald A Winer1, Jane E Cottrell, Virginia Gregg
1Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, 142 Townshend Hall, Columbus, OH 43210-1222, USA.
Abstract:
The authors reviewed research about a profound misconception that is present among college students, namely, the belief that the process of vision includes emanations from the eyes, an idea that is consistent with the extramission theory of perception, which was originally professed by early Greek philosophers and which persisted in scholarly circles for centuries. The authors document the strength and breadth of this phenomenon and the object failure of traditional educational techniques to overcome this belief, and they reveal that students are leaving psychology courses with a flawed understanding of one of the most studied processes in the history of psychology--visual perception. Some suggestions are offered for overcoming this misconception in traditional college classroom settings.
Related Concept Videos
Color Vision
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Vision
Visual System
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Anatomy of the Eyeball
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

