The whole is indeed more than the sum of its parts: Perceptual averaging in the absence of individual item representation

Corbett, Jennifer E.; Oriet, Chris

doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2011.08.002

Cited by 101 publications

(125 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…This finding is concordant with both the postperceptual role for color categories in cognition (He et al, 2014) and the early and automatic nature of ensemble encoding (e.g., Allik, Toom, Raidvee, Averin, & Kreegipuu, 2014;Corbett & Oriet, 2011; and also supports our previous findings of the effect of categories on mean color familiarity (Maule et al, 2014).…”

Section: Interim Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Because the distractor is always more similar to one of the two element colors than the mean color is to either one individually, it may be that the distractor is erroneously chosen due to a bias toward the individual representations of the ensembles hues rather than the ensemble mean. The fact that this effect disappears when there are intermediate hues also present (i.e., in the 20-JND, four-color condition) could be taken to suggest that individual representations no longer bias the choice, perhaps due to the constraints of visual working memory inhibiting the encoding of individual items (e.g., Alvarez & Oliva, 2008;Attarha, Moore, & Vecera, 2014;Baijal et al, 2013;Chong & Treisman, 2005a;Corbett & Oriet, 2011;De Fockert & Marchant, 2008). When the hue range is even greater (i.e., 28 JNDs, two colors), we suggest that the difference between distractor and element hues is sufficiently large that similarity to element colors is not strong enough to bias responses toward either option of the 2AFC, so mean accuracy is near chance.…”

Section: Below-chance Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of ensemble complexity and perceptual similarity on rapid averaging of hue

Maule

Franklin

2015

Journal of Vision

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The ability to extract the mean of features from a rapidly viewed, heterogeneous array of objects has been demonstrated for a number of different visual properties. Few studies have previously investigated the rapid averaging of color; those that did had insufficient stimulus control or inappropriate methods. This study reports three experiments that directly test observers' ability to extract the mean hue from a rapidly presented, multielement color ensemble. In Experiment 1, ensembles varied in number of elements and number of colors. It was found that averaging was harder for ensembles with more colors but that changing the number of elements had no effect on accuracy, supportive of a distributed-attention account of rapid color averaging. Experiment 2a manipulated the hue range present in any single ensemble (varying the perceptual difference between ensemble elements) while still varying the number of colors. Range had a strong effect on ability to pick the mean hue. Experiment 2b found no effect of color categories on the accuracy or speed of mean selection. The results indicate that perceptual difference of elements is the dominant factor affecting ability to average rapidly seen color ensembles. Findings are discussed both in the context of perception and memory of multiple colors and ensemble perception generally.

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Section: Interim Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Below-chance Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of ensemble complexity and perceptual similarity on rapid averaging of hue

Maule

Franklin

2015

Journal of Vision

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“…Alternatively, individual rep resentations might be so noisy that they cannot be used reliably for later identification (Alvarez & Oliva, 2008). Regardless, the results suggest that averaging is distinct from individual object processing (e.g., Alvarez, 2011;Corbett & Oriet, 2011;Im & Halberda, 2013;Jacoby, Kamke, & Mattingley, 2013;Joo et al, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 89%

Summary statistics of size: Fixed processing capacity for multiple ensembles but unlimited processing capacity for single ensembles.

Attarha

Moore

Vecera

2014

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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We assessed the processing capacity of establishing statistical summary representations (SSRs) of mean size in visual displays using the simultaneous-sequential method. Four clusters of stimuli, each composed of several circles with various diameters, were presented around fixation. Observers searched for the cluster with the largest or smallest mean size. In the simultaneous condition, all four clusters were presented concurrently; in the sequential condition, the clusters appeared two at a time. We found that the processing capacity of SSRs for multiple ensembles was as extreme as a fixed-rate bottleneck process (Experiment 1). A control experiment confirmed that this was not caused by having to compare the results of multiple averaging processes (Experiment 2). In contrast to computing SSRs across ensembles, computing SSRs for a single ensemble using the same stimuli was consistent with unlimited-capacity processing (Experiment 3). Contrary to existing claims, summary representations appear to be extracted independently for items within single ensembles but not multiple ensembles. A developing understanding of capacity limitations in perceptual processing is discussed.

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“…We believe that such a result supports the contention that perceptual averaging, in part, influences that visual percept supporting antisaccades. Recall that the perceptual averaging hypothesis asserts that the visual system represents target properties (e.g., size, luminance, distance) via an abstract approximation (i.e., the mean) of the individual targets included within a stimulus-set (Albrecht, Scholl, & Chun, 2012;Ariely, 2001;Chong and Treisman, 2003;Corbett & Oriet, 2011;Davarpanah Jazi & Heath, 2014). As indicated by Ariely, perceptual averaging allows the visual system to efficiently and effectively deal with limited attentional resources without simply reducing the resolution of individual target properties.…”

Section: Antisaccade Amplitudes Are Characterized By Perceptual Averamentioning

confidence: 99%

Target frequency influences antisaccade endpoint bias: Evidence for perceptual averaging

Gillen

Heath

2014

Vision Research

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Perceptual judgments related to stimulus-sets are represented computationally different than individual items. In particular, the perceptual averaging hypothesis contends that the visual system represents target properties (e.g., eccentricity) via a statistical summary of the individual targets included within a stimulus-set. Here we sought to determine whether perceptual averaging governs the visual information mediating an oculomotor task requiring top-down control (i.e., antisaccade). To that end, participants completed antisaccades (i.e., saccade mirror-symmetrical to a target) – and complementary prosaccades (i.e., saccade to veridical target location) – to different target eccentricities (10.5°, 15.5° and 20.5°) located left and right of a common fixation. Importantly, trials were completed in blocks wherein eccentricities were presented with equal frequency (i.e., control condition) and when the ‘proximal’ (10.5°: i.e., proximal-weighting condition) and ‘distal’ (20.5°: i.e., distal-weighting condition) targets were respectively presented five times as often as the other eccentricities. If antisaccades are governed by a statistical summary then amplitudes should be biased in the direction of the most frequently presented target within a block. As expected, pro- and antisaccade across each target eccentricity were associated with an undershooting bias and prosaccades were refractory to the manipulation of target frequency. Most notably, antisaccades in the proximal-weighting condition had a larger undershooting bias than the control condition, whereas the converse was true for the distal-weighing condition; that is, antisaccades were biased in the direction of the most frequently presented target. Thus, we propose that perceptual averaging extends to motor tasks requiring top-down cognitive control.

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The whole is indeed more than the sum of its parts: Perceptual averaging in the absence of individual item representation

Cited by 101 publications

References 34 publications

Effects of ensemble complexity and perceptual similarity on rapid averaging of hue

Effects of ensemble complexity and perceptual similarity on rapid averaging of hue

Summary statistics of size: Fixed processing capacity for multiple ensembles but unlimited processing capacity for single ensembles.

Target frequency influences antisaccade endpoint bias: Evidence for perceptual averaging

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