title: Lack of control enhances accurate and inaccurate identification responses to degraded visual objects.
abstract: Recent studies have shown that lack of control induces illusory pattern perception. In this study, we demonstrate that lacking control also affected identification responses to degraded pictures of visual objects. As compared with control participants, participants in whom lack of control was experimentally induced produced identification responses to visual objects at a significantly higher level of degradation of the stimulus. Lacking control did not influence accuracy of identification, since the effect was present for both correct and incorrect identification responses, and did not encourage pure random guessing. Our results indicate that lacking control makes individuals more prone to achieve visual closure by attempting earlier identifications of perceptually degraded visual objects. Possible mechanisms involved in this effect are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Florence, Via San Salvi 12, Padiglione 26, Florence, Italy. manila.vannucci@psico.unifi.it
authors.forename: Manila
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vannucci
authors.forename: Giuliana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazzoni
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cartocci
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009903:Optical Illusions; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010556:Personality Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult