Visual acuity improvement following fading and feedback training—III. Effects on acuity for stimuli in the natural environment

The effectiveness of Fading and Feedback training for improving visual performance of myopic volunteers was evaluated using a randomized control design. Forty-eight myopic volunteers were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: Fading and Feedback Training, Fading and Feedback Training plus Incentives, No Training, or No Training plus Incentives. Subjects were pre- and post-tested on three measures of visual function: Performance—subjects played a video “pong” game for a brief period of time; Facial Expression Identification—subjects were asked to identify four different facial expressions; and Visual Search—subjects were asked to locate four household items placed on tables in a room. Subjects in the training condition significantly improved in their ability to recognize facial expressions and identify household objects. This occurred with or without incentives for training subjects. However, for both the facial expression and visual search tasks, incentives alone resulted in improved visual acuity in the absence of training. These data are discussed in terms of generalizability of Fading and Feedback training to stimuli in the natural environment.