The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the processing of local and global perception in relation to selective attention during development from childhood to early adulthood. Filtering was the specific component of selective attention that was examined. The influence of varying distractor congruency and compatibility on relative local-global processing was also examined. Distractor congruency and compatibility did not differentially affect local and global processing. With the presence of neutral distractors, however, 6- and 8-year-old participants demonstrated a greater increase in RTs for global targets relative to local targets whereas older children and adults showed the same pattern of RTs for both local and global targets. The results are suggestive of separate developmental trajectories for global and local level processes, with global processing undergoing developmental change at least until 8 years of age.
Artists have superior local and global processing abilities but show a preference for initially drawing globally.
