Selective attention to the parts of an object

Abstract

and JOHN McGOLDRICK University ojDenver, Denver, ColoradoRecent empirical results suggest that there is a decrement in dividing attention between two objects in a scene compared with focusing attention on a single object. However, objects can be made of individual parts. Is there a decrement for dividing attention across different parts ofa single object? We addressed this question in two experiments. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated that attention can exhibit part-based selection-that is, the subjects were more accurate in reporting two attributes from the same part of an object than they were in reporting attributes from different parts of an object. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated that part-based attentional decrements occurred simultaneously with object-based attentional decrements. The results from Experiment 2 demonstrated that part-based attention is evident at the same time as objects are processed as coherent wholes. Our results imply that there is an attentional mechanism that can select either objects or their parts.

Attentional selection of complex objects: Joint effects of surface uniformity and part structure

“…An analysis of the three trial type conditions was significant [F(2,19) A similar trend was found in the accuracy for each trial type, including a trend toward higher accuracy on the invalidsame than invalid-different object trials. The present findings indicate that attention was able to select these multipart objects when they had a uniform surface, consistent with previous results that demonstrated object-based selection in multipart objects (e.g., Vecera et al, 2000Vecera et al, , 2001.…”

“…Experiment 2 replicated the finding that nonuniform objects (i.e., objects made of different colors) do not guide object-based attention. Experiment 3 demonstrated that single-region, multipart objects guide object-based attention, consistent with previous findings (Vecera, Behrmann, & McGoldrick, 2000;Vecera, Behrmann, & Filapek, 2001). Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrated that object-based attention could select multiple-region objects when surface color changes occurred at part boundaries (Experiment 4), but not when they occurred away from part boundaries (Experiment 5).…”

Early computation of part structure: Evidence from visual search

“…Our findings are also consistent with recent work on the part-based nature of visual attention, which has shown that attention shifts more readily within a single part than across two parts of a single object (Barenholtz & Feldman, 2002;Singh & Scholl, 2000;Vecera, Behrmann, & Filapek, 2001;Vecera, Behrmann, & McGoldrick, 2000). The fact that parts of objects can act as units of attentional selection also suggests that they are computed obligatorily, requiring few attentional resources for their computation.…”

Inhibition of return for objects and locations in static displays

“…Thus, the attenuation of IOR within a single-object component might reflect a summation of inhibition and facilitation. However, at present, relatively little is known about how inhibitory and facilitatory mechanisms of selection interact with object shape representations and their structural properties (see also Gibson & Egeth, 1994;Iani, Nicoletti, Rubichi, & Umiltà, 2001;Lavie & Driver, 1996;Vecera, Behrmann, & Filapek, 2001;Vecera, Behrmann, & McGoldrick, 2000).…”