Visual search for simple volumetric shapes

Percept Psychophys. 1992 Jan;51(1):40-8. doi: 10.3758/bf03205072.

Abstract

Five experiments measured reaction time (RT) to detect the presence or absence of a simple volumetric shape (target) dependent on the number of display items (distractors) and their depicted three-dimensional (3-D) orientation. Experiments 1-4 examined every pairwise combination of two different simple volumetric shapes in two 3-D orientations. Conditions exhibiting "pop-out" could be predicted by differences in their two-dimensional (2-D) features. Conditions in which search was slower support previously found search asymmetries for particular 2-D features. When the distractors were a mixture of the other shapes in the same 3-D orientation, search was serial, except when the target had a curved principal axis (Experiment 5). The results suggest that these simple volumetric shapes are not processed preattentively.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attention*
  • Depth Perception*
  • Discrimination Learning*
  • Humans
  • Optical Illusions*
  • Orientation*
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual*
  • Psychophysics
  • Reaction Time