Localization of the disappearance of a light target during tracking eye movements. II

A light target moving with constant velocity and disappearing at a place determined by the experimenter, is presented to the subjects who track it visually and determine the locus of its disappearance with respect to a scale mounted on the screen. The result is that the disappearance of the target is systematically mislocated in the direction of the eye movement. The value of the mislocation depends on the target intensity. Under different experimental conditions the subjects localize target disappearance by steady fixation of the eyes. The resulting mislocation has entirely different characteristics compared with the first conditions. The theory that the phenomenon of mislocation is due only to wgnal latency in the visual pathways is rejected. A hypothesis is proposed concerning the participation of psychological factors in the process of localization.