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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

How to Create and Use Binocular Rivalry
Published on: November 10, 2010
Tri-stable stimuli reveal interactions among subsequent percepts: rivalry is biased by perceptual history
Marnix Naber1, Gina Gruenhage, Wolfgang Einhäuser
1Philipps-University Marburg, Department of Neurophysics, Germany.
Abstract:
In rivalry, constant stimuli allow several interpretations ("percepts"). Percepts are characterized by their probability to occur and by the duration of their dominance. During continuous presentation of bi-stable stimuli, both percept probabilities are trivially 50%. To disentangle the processes triggering a percept from those stabilizing it, we introduce tri-stable stimuli having three percepts. We find the probability and dominance duration of a percept independently adjustable. Percept probabilities and dominance durations show mutual dependencies across several perceptual switches. Consequently, the current perceptual experience depends on perceptual history; therefore, rivalry--even for continuous presentation--is not a memory-less process.
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