The Effects of Ocular Dominance on Visual Processing in College Students

William A. Holland

Abstract

V. Abstract

The role of ocular dominance in processing visual memory and analytic tasks is unknown. Previous research variably showed both significant effects and no effect of ocular dominance on visual perception, motor control and sports performance. Consequently, the goal of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between ocular dominance and visual processing under a variety of computer gaming tasks. This was accomplished by first determining subjects’ ocular dominance through the use of the Miles test, and then proceeding to examine the subjects’ visual performance on four different Lumosity games under three conditions: left eye, right eye and both eyes. The results revealed that there was a relationship between ocular dominance and score in one of the games tested: Raindrops. However, there was no relationship between ocular dominance and accuracy measured in this game nor was there a relationship within any of the other games. It is possible that a relationship between ocular dominance and score in the game Raindrops may have been due to the simplicity of the task. Raindrops only measures arithmetic ability whereas the other games measure a variety of different abilities. A small sample size (n = 20) may have also contributed to the inability to detect significant effects.