title: Activation of response force by self-splitting objects: where are the limits of feedforward Gestalt processing?
abstract: Most objects can be recognized easily even when they are partly occluded. This also holds when several overlapping objects share the same surface features (self-splitting objects) which is an illustration of the grouping principle of Good Gestalt. We employed outline and filled contour stimuli in a primed flanker task to test whether the processing of self-splitting objects is in accordance with a simple feedforward model. We obtained priming effects in response time and response force for both types of stimuli, even when increasing the number of occluders up to three. The results for outline contours were in full accordance with a feedforward account. This was not the case for the results for filled contours (i.e., for self-splitting objects), especially under conditions of strong occlusion. We conclude that the implementation of the Good Gestalt principle is fast but still based on recurrent processing.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences, Experimental Psychology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Filipp
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences, Experimental Psychology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences, Experimental Psychology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005863:Gestalt Theory; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: completion; feedforward processing; occlusion; priming; self-splitting objects