Abstract
During binocular rivalry, perception alternates between dissimilar images presented dichoptically. It has been argued that the interocular conflict between the images leads to competition: the images compete to become the dominant percept. In the present study we ask a simple question: How salient is interocular conflict? We used a change-blindness paradigm in which observers had to detect a change in a display that was turned on and off continuously. The displays consisted of natural scenes in which a change occurred in a small region of the image. The change occurred either in one eye (monocular) or in both eyes (binocular). Additionally, observers had to detect changes in displays in which the change consisted of the combination of the changed and unchanged part of the image (transparent). Observers were instructed to press a button as soon as they had located the change. To check for accuracy, they also indicated the nature of the change. The results show that reaction times for correctly locating the change were much shorter for monocular than for binocular or transparent changes. This finding implies that monocular changes are more salient than binocular changes, although binocular changes are presented to both eyes. Clearly, the visual system is set to quickly detect the competition evoked by interocular conflict.