TY - JOUR
T1 - Illusory-contour figures prime matching of real shapes
AU - Barlasov-Ioffe, Anna
AU - Hochstein, Shaul
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - We investigated explicit and implicit properties of the internal representation of illusorycontour figures by studying potential priming effects of this representation. Using a primed matching paradigm (Beller 1971, Journal of Experimental Psychology 87 176-182), we found that illusory 'Kanizsa' squares and triangles prime later matching of the same shapes, respectively, and not of the alternative shape. This priming effect is present despite the use of an illusory figure as a prime and real shapes as tests. To determine whether implicit processing mechanisms sufficiently induce a representation of the illusory shape so that it can lead to this priming effect, we used a novel method of presentation of the inducing pattern, based on Rock and Linnet's (1993, Perception 22 61-76) method for separating (implicit) retinal and (explicit) world-coordinate images. Presence of the implicit retinal image is confirmed by its producing an afterimage. While the retinal image is only implicitly produced by the inducing pattern of pacmen, it is nevertheless available for real-shape match priming. We conclude that Kanizsa-type inducer patterns are processed implicitly until formation of illusory-figure shapes. These are represented at relatively high cortical levels, and shape-matching priming must occur here, too. These results are consistent with the claim of the reverse hierarchy theory that bottom-up processing is generally implicit and that conscious perception originates at high cortical levels.
AB - We investigated explicit and implicit properties of the internal representation of illusorycontour figures by studying potential priming effects of this representation. Using a primed matching paradigm (Beller 1971, Journal of Experimental Psychology 87 176-182), we found that illusory 'Kanizsa' squares and triangles prime later matching of the same shapes, respectively, and not of the alternative shape. This priming effect is present despite the use of an illusory figure as a prime and real shapes as tests. To determine whether implicit processing mechanisms sufficiently induce a representation of the illusory shape so that it can lead to this priming effect, we used a novel method of presentation of the inducing pattern, based on Rock and Linnet's (1993, Perception 22 61-76) method for separating (implicit) retinal and (explicit) world-coordinate images. Presence of the implicit retinal image is confirmed by its producing an afterimage. While the retinal image is only implicitly produced by the inducing pattern of pacmen, it is nevertheless available for real-shape match priming. We conclude that Kanizsa-type inducer patterns are processed implicitly until formation of illusory-figure shapes. These are represented at relatively high cortical levels, and shape-matching priming must occur here, too. These results are consistent with the claim of the reverse hierarchy theory that bottom-up processing is generally implicit and that conscious perception originates at high cortical levels.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=75349114892&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1068/p6118
DO - 10.1068/p6118
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C2 - 19817146
AN - SCOPUS:75349114892
SN - 0301-0066
VL - 38
SP - 1118
EP - 1131
JO - Perception
JF - Perception
IS - 8
ER -