Researchers say infants may learn fear of heights based on visual experiences and not as a result of psychological changes as previously indicated.

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In one test, researchers used a "moving room"--a rectangular enclosure with side walls that moved toward the subject infants. Researchers then scored the infants' peripheral vision based on their abilities to perceive, process and show postural changes as they adjusted to the environment moving around them.

Credit: University of California, Berkeley

When optic flow in the periphery is not perceivable, such as when a person is at a great height, it can create a sense of loss of balance and instability. By concentrating on the center of the screen, viewers can see how this virtual moving room uses out-of-focus peripheral experiences to demonstrate why great heights are called 'dizzying.'

Credit: University of California, Berkeley