Which apparatus did Eleanor Gibson use to study depth perception in children?

Which apparatus did Eleanor Gibson use to study depth perception in children?

• A. T Maze
• B. Visual Cliff
• C. Maze Runner
• D. Ping-Pong Table

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how to test depth perception in infants with a setup that looks like a real drop-off but is physically safe. Eleanor Gibson used the Visual Cliff for this. The apparatus presents a baby on a raised, glass-topped surface with a patterned “cliff” on the far side and a matching pattern on the near side. Because the surface is glass, the baby can see a drop on one side, even though there’s no actual danger. If the infant perceives depth, they tend to stay on the shallow side or hesitate before crossing to the other side; if depth isn’t perceived, they may cross as if there’s no drop. This method is ideal for studying depth perception in very young children because it isolates visual depth cues while keeping the physical setup identical on both sides, allowing researchers to attribute avoidance behavior specifically to depth perception. The other options aren’t used for this purpose: they’re associated with learning or general navigation tasks in animals or are not standard tools for studying infant depth perception, so they wouldn’t accurately measure whether depth cues influence behavior.

The main idea here is how to test depth perception in infants with a setup that looks like a real drop-off but is physically safe. Eleanor Gibson used the Visual Cliff for this. The apparatus presents a baby on a raised, glass-topped surface with a patterned “cliff” on the far side and a matching pattern on the near side. Because the surface is glass, the baby can see a drop on one side, even though there’s no actual danger. If the infant perceives depth, they tend to stay on the shallow side or hesitate before crossing to the other side; if depth isn’t perceived, they may cross as if there’s no drop.

This method is ideal for studying depth perception in very young children because it isolates visual depth cues while keeping the physical setup identical on both sides, allowing researchers to attribute avoidance behavior specifically to depth perception. The other options aren’t used for this purpose: they’re associated with learning or general navigation tasks in animals or are not standard tools for studying infant depth perception, so they wouldn’t accurately measure whether depth cues influence behavior.