Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Visual Angle

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

Synonyms

Visual subtense

Definition

Visual angle is a dimension used to indicate the size of visual stimuli subtended at the eye without having to specify actual stimulus size or distance and is used to specify intraocular dimensions.

Current Knowledge

Visual angle predicts the amount of space that an image will subtend on the retina and describes the relative location of separate retinal images. It is also used to specify the size of spatial frequency gratings. It is formed by incoming light rays at the nodal point of the eye and is dependent on the size of the stimulus, its distance from the observer, and whether or not it is viewed in the frontal plane. In a simplified model, visual angle is formed from the light rays from two points (in height, width, or depth) of a viewed object as they enter the eye and is proportional to the angle projected onto the retina. The size of the subtended image is thus determined by the visual angle. An object viewed from different distances will have...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 1,350.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 1,299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References and Readings

  • De Valois, R. L., & De Valois, K. K. (1988). Spatial vision. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Shea, R. P. (1991). Thumb’s rule tested: Visual angle of the thumb’s width is about 2 deg. Perception, 20, 415–418.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scharff, L. V. (2003). Sensation and perception research methods. In S. F. Davis (Ed.), Handbook of research methods in experimental psychology (pp. 263–284). Malden: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, 01655, Worcester, MA, USA

    Joan Swearer

Authors
  1. Joan Swearer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Professor of Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry Virginia Commonwealth University – Medical Center Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, VCU, 980542, Richmond, Virginia, 23298-0542, USA

    Jeffrey S. Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation Research Center, 1199 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ, 07052, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  4. Independent Practice, 564 M.O.B. East, 100 E. Lancaster Ave., Wynnewood, PA, 19096, USA

    Bruce Caplan

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this entry

Cite this entry

Swearer, J. (2011). Visual Angle. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1411

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1411

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-79947-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79948-3

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation