title: Beyond gist: strategic and incremental information accumulation for scene categorization.
abstract: Research on scene categorization generally concentrates on gist processing, particularly the speed and minimal features with which the "story" of a scene can be extracted. However, this focus has led to a paucity of research into how scenes are categorized at specific hierarchical levels (e.g., a scene could be a road or more specifically a highway); consequently, research has disregarded a potential diagnostically driven feedback process. We presented participants with scenes that were low-pass filtered so only their gist was revealed, while a gaze-contingent window provided the fovea with full-resolution details. By recording where in a scene participants fixated prior to making a basic- or subordinate-level judgment, we identified the scene information accrued when participants made either categorization. We observed a feedback process, dependent on categorization level, that systematically accrues sufficient and detailed diagnostic information from the same scene. Our results demonstrate that during scene processing, a diagnostically driven bidirectional interplay between top-down and bottom-up information facilitates relevant category processing.
authors.affiliation: 1The George Washington University.
authors.forename: George L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Malcolm
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nuthmann
authors.forename: Philippe G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Schyns
mesh_terms: D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology
keywords: eye movements; object recognition