Abstract
The time course of perceptual grouping was examined in two experiments, using a primed matching task. In different conditions, elements were grouped into columns/rows by common lightness, into a shape (triangle/arrow or square/cross) by common lightness, and into a shape without segregation of elements. The results showed an early and rapid grouping into columns/rows by common lightness and into a shape when no segregation from other elements was involved. Goodness of shape (i.e., triangle/arrow vs. square/cross) had no influence on how early grouping was evident, but the relatively poorer shapes appeared to consolidate with time. In contrast, grouping into a shape that involved segregation and required resolving figure-ground relations between segregated units, as grouping into a shape by common lightness, consumed time, regardless ofshape goodness. These results suggest that the time course of grouping varies as a function of the processes involved in it (e.g., segregation and shape formation) and the conditions prevailing for each process.
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This research was conducted at the Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, and was partly based on the first author’s dissertation under the supervision of the second author.
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Razpurker-Apfeld, I., Kimchi, R. The time course of perceptual grouping: The role of segregation and shape formation. Perception & Psychophysics 69, 732–743 (2007). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193775
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193775