Effect of an intervening screen on accommodation to a distant object

Background: An intervening screen has been suggested to induce an inward shift of accommodation when viewing a distant object. This is an example of the Mandelbaum effect. However, there have been no objective measures of the magnitude of this effect in this particular situation. Methods: Accommodation was recorded with an infra-red optometer, while subjects (n = 16) viewed a distant letter target with or without an intervening screen. Screens were placed near the individual dark focus distance or at 50 cm. In a second experiment the contrast of the distant target was varied and subjects (n = 5) viewed the target directly or through a screen placed near the individual dark focus distance. Results: In the main experiment, the Mandelbaum effect was not significantly different from zero and was less than 0.5 D in every subject. In addition, accommodation was not more variable when viewing through the screen. However, it may be that some subjects do demonstrate a Mandelbaum effect while others do not. The individual dark focus level did not predict susceptibility to the Mandelbaum effect for a screen at the dark focus. Subjects reported their perceptions of the tasks and some noted changes in the perceived distances of objects when viewing through a screen. In the second experiment, the Mandelbaum effect (< 0.6 D) did not vary with distant target contrast. Conclusions: When viewing a distant object through a screen there is a small (< 0.6 D) or negligible inward shift of accommodation.