The role of eye movements in the autokinetic phenomenon.

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Abstract
Apparent movement of a spot of light, and of an after-image superimposed on it, can occur together when the eyes of the subject are moving. The in-sensitivity of the photographic method in detecting eye movement, relative to the sensitivity of the eye in detecting movement of a spot of light, is indicated both by theoretical considerations, and by the frequent failure of the photographic technique to reveal nystagmus when illusory movement was induced by caloric irrigation. Observation of the movement of a reflection from the cornea in the focussing screen of an ophthalmograph makes the nystagmic twitching of the eye, during observation of the illusion, directly apparent. From this the experimenter can determine the direction of the autokinetic illusion with an accuracy that well exceeds chance expectation. The method of direct observation is more sensitive than the photographic technique in the study of the ordinary autokinetic effect. While the arguments levelled against the eye-movement hypothesis are shown to be invalid, considerable exptl. evidence in favor of the hypothesis i.s revealed.

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