Feature Integration Theory - Experiments

Experiments

In order to test the notion that attention plays a vital role in visual perception, Treisman and Schmidt (1982) designed an experiment to show that features may exist independently of one another early in processing. Participants were shown a picture involving four objects hidden by two black numbers. The display was flashed for one-fifth of a second followed by a random-dot masking field that appeared on screen to eliminate “any residual perception that might remain after the stimuli were turned off”. Participants were to report the black numbers they saw at each location when the shapes had previously been. The results of this experiment verified Treisman and Schmidt's hypothesis. In 18% of trials, participants reported seeing shapes “made up of a combination of features from two different stimuli”, even when the stimuli had great differences; this is often referred to as an illusory conjunction. Specifically, illusory conjunctions occur in various situations. For example, you may identify a passing person wearing a red shirt and yellow hat and very quickly transform him or her into one wearing a yellow shirt and red hat. The Feature integration theory provides explanation for illusory conjunctions; because features exist independently of one another during early processing and are not associated with a specific object, they can easily be incorrectly combined both in laboratory settings, as well as in real life situations.

As previously mentioned, Balint's syndrome patients have provided support for the Feature Integration Theory. Particularly, Research participant R.M., a Bálint's syndrome sufferer who was unable to focus attention on individual objects, experiences illusory conjunctions when presented with simple stimuli such as a "blue O" or a "red T." In 23% of trials, even when able to view the stimulus for as long as 10 seconds, R.M. reported seeing a "red O" or a "blue T". This finding is in accordance with feature integration theory's prediction of how one with a lack of focused attention would erroneously combine features.

If people use their prior knowledge or experience to perceive an object, they are less likely to make mistakes, or illusory conjunctions. In order to explain this phenomenon, Treisman and Souther (1986) conducted an experiment in which they presented three shapes to participants where illusory conjunctions could exist. Surprisingly, when she told participants that they were being shown a carrot, lake, and tire (in place of the orange triangle, blue oval, and black circle, respectively), illusory conjunctions did not exist. Treisman maintained that prior-knowledge played an important role in proper perception. Normally, bottom-up processing is used for identifying novel objects; but, once we recall prior knowledge, top-down processing is used. This explains why people are good at identifying familiar objects rather than unfamiliar.

Read more about this topic:  Feature Integration Theory

Famous quotes containing the word experiments:

    Science is a dynamic undertaking directed to lowering the degree of the empiricism involved in solving problems; or, if you prefer, science is a process of fabricating a web of interconnected concepts and conceptual schemes arising from experiments and observations and fruitful of further experiments and observations.
    James Conant (1893–1978)

    The man who invented Eskimo Pie made a million dollars, so one is told, but E.E. Cummings, whose verse has been appearing off and on for three years now, and whose experiments should not be more appalling to those interested in poetry than the experiment of surrounding ice-cream with a layer of chocolate was to those interested in soda fountains, has hardly made a dent in the doughy minds of our so-called poetry lovers.
    John Dos Passos (1896–1970)

    A country survives its legislation. That truth should not comfort the conservative nor depress the radical. For it means that public policy can enlarge its scope and increase its audacity, can try big experiments without trembling too much over the result. This nation could enter upon the most radical experiments and could afford to fail in them.
    Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)