Beyond the Forest and the Trees: Local and Global Interference in Hierarchical Visual Stimuli Containing Three Levels

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p5619 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1115-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Rijpkema ◽  
Sandra van Aalderen ◽  
Jens Schwarzbach ◽  
Frans A J Verstraten
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
Visual Scene ◽  
Precedence Effect ◽  
Local Processing ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Global Precedence ◽  
Large Letter ◽  
Attentional Window ◽  
Hierarchical Manner

Our visual world can be thought of as organised in a hierarchical manner. Studies on hierarchical letter stimuli (a large letter composed of smaller letters) suggest that processing of a visual scene is global to local, a phenomenon known as the global-precedence effect. Elaborating on this global-to-local hypothesis we tested whether global interference will increase with increasing level of globality. For this, we used three-level hierarchical letter stimuli with a global, middle, and local level. When attending to the local level of the stimulus, only the middle level showed an interference effect, whereas the global level did not interfere at all. We argue that, considering the perceptual and attentional contributions to this effect, the hypothesis of global-to-local processing of a visual scene may only hold within a limited spatial attentional window.

On the Different Processing of Wholes and Parts: A Psychophysiological Analysis

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 687-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shihui Han ◽  
Silu Fan ◽  
Lin Chen ◽  
Yan Zhuo
Keyword(s):  
Interference Effect ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Precedence Effect ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Global Precedence ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Compound Stimuli ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Local Levels

The global precedence hypothesis (Navon, 1977) assumes that the processing of the global level of a hierarchical pattern precedes that of the local level. To explore further the nature of global and local processing of compound stimuli, we recorded the event-related brain potentials (ERPs) associated with ident@ing the global and local levels of nonlinguistic compound stimuli in a selective attention task. Wile subjects' behavioral responses were similar to those observed by Navon (1977), the analyses of ERP data showed that identification of the local level elicited longer N2 and P3 peak latencies with enhanced N2 and decreased P3 amplitudes relative to the identification of the global level. The inconsistency between the global and local levels made N2 and P3 amplitudes more negative with longer peak latencies. This interference effect on N2 and P3 amplitude and P3 latency was stronger on the local level than on the global level. The modulation of N2 by the consistency of the global and local levels observed in this and the previous (Heinze, Muente, et al., 1994) study suggests that the interference effect may be mediated by the early perceptual processing. Moreover, we found that the amplitude of an early posterior P1 component was modulated by attention to the global and local levels, being larger to the local target than to the global one. This PI effect gives no support to the notion that the variation of attentional spotlight determines the global precedence effect.

Local-Level and Global-Level Form Characteristics in Apparent-Motion Correspondence

Perception ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1233-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Palmer ◽  
Ovid J L Tzeng ◽  
Sheng He
Keyword(s):  
Apparent Motion ◽  
Motion Detection ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Other ◽  
Correspondence Problem ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Global Precedence ◽  
Detection Mechanism ◽  
Motion Display ◽  
Motion Correspondence

This study addressed the ‘correspondence’ problem of apparent-motion (AM) perception in which parts of a scene must be matched with counterparts separated in time and space. Given evidence that AM correspondence can be mediated by two distinct processes—one based on a low-level motion-detection mechanism (the Reichardt process), the other involving the tracking of objects by visual attention (the attention-based process)—the present study explored how these processes interact in the perception of apparent motion between hierarchically structured figures. In three experiments, hierarchical figures were presented in a competition motion display so that, across frames, figures were identical at either the local or the global level. In experiment 1 it was shown that AM occurred between locally identical figures. Furthermore, with the Reichardt AM component eliminated in experiments 3 and 4, no preference was obtained for either level. While evidence from previous studies suggests that form extraction for hierarchically structured figures proceeds from the global to the local level, the present results indicate the irrelevance of such a global precedence in AM correspondence. In addition, it is suggested that Reichardt AM correspondence between local elements constrains attention-based AM correspondence between global figures so that both components move in the same direction. It is argued that this constraining process represents an elegant means of achieving AM correspondence between objects undergoing complex transformations.

Visual perception without awareness in a patient with posterior cortical atrophy: Impaired explicit but not implicit processing of global information

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. VINCENT FILOTEO ◽  
FRANCES J. FRIEDRICH ◽  
CATHERINE RABBEL ◽  
JOHN L. STRICKER
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Cortical Atrophy ◽  
Local Processing ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Global Information ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Posterior Cortical Atrophy ◽  
Normal Pattern ◽  
Implicit Processing

A patient with progressive posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) was examined on several tests of visual cognition. The patient displayed multiple visual cognitive deficits, which included problems identifying degraded stimuli, attending to two or more stimuli simultaneously, recognizing faces, tracing simple visual stimuli, matching simple shapes, and copying objects. The patient was also impaired in identifying visual targets contained at the global level within global–local stimuli (i.e., smaller letters that compose a larger letter). Although the patient denied any conscious awareness of the global form, he nevertheless displayed a normal pattern of global interference when asked to identify local level targets. Thus, the patient processed the global information despite not being consciously aware of such information. These results suggest that global–local processing can take place in the absence of awareness. Possible neurocognitive mechanisms explaining this dissociation are discussed. (JINS, 2002, 8, 461–472.)

Local and Global Processing by Persons with Williams Syndrome: The Case of Visuo-Constructive Tasks

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michèle Fayasse ◽  
Jean-Pierre Thibaut
Keyword(s):  
Williams Syndrome ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Global Processing ◽  
Local Processing ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Mental Age ◽  
Local And Global Processing ◽  
Puzzle Task

Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare genetically based neurodevelopmental disorder resulting in mild to moderate mental retardation. People with WS are known for their particular weakness in visuo-spatial construction. In a block-design task and a jigsaw-puzzle task, we compared WS persons with normally developing children matched for mental age. Three hypotheses were contrasted: (a) the standard local hypothesis, maintaining that WS persons are biased toward local processing and have a deficit in processing the global level of stimuli (Bellugi & al., 1994); (b) the disengaging from the global level hypothesis, which states that they have difficulties disengaging from global configurations when local processing is required (Pani & al., 1999); and a new hypothesis (c) the disengaging from the local level hypothesis, which states that they have difficulties in disengaging from salient local features when global processing is required. The third hypothesis is compatible with most of the observations regarding visuo-constructive problems in WS. We propose an interpretation of WS persons’ problems in terms of executive functions.

Do You Want to See the Tree? Ignore the Forest

2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Poirel ◽  
Claire Sara Krakowski ◽  
Sabrina Sayah ◽  
Arlette Pineau ◽  
Olivier Houdé ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Recognition ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Information ◽  
Visual Environment ◽  
Global Information ◽  
Focus Attention ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Hierarchical Stimuli ◽  
Priming Paradigm ◽  
The One

The visual environment consists of global structures (e.g., a forest) made up of local parts (e.g., trees). When compound stimuli are presented (e.g., large global letters composed of arrangements of small local letters), the global unattended information slows responses to local targets. Using a negative priming paradigm, we investigated whether inhibition is required to process hierarchical stimuli when information at the local level is in conflict with the one at the global level. The results show that when local and global information is in conflict, global information must be inhibited to process local information, but that the reverse is not true. This finding has potential direct implications for brain models of visual recognition, by suggesting that when local information is conflicting with global information, inhibitory control reduces feedback activity from global information (e.g., inhibits the forest) which allows the visual system to process local information (e.g., to focus attention on a particular tree).

Diagnosis of embankment dam distresses using Bayesian networks. Part I. Global-level characteristics based on a dam distress database

2011 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 1630-1644 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.M. Zhang ◽  
Y. Xu ◽  
J.S. Jia ◽  
C. Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Networks ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
General Information ◽  
Dam Safety ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Embankment Dam ◽  
The Public ◽  
Embankment Dams ◽  
Level Performance

Dam safety has drawn increasing attention from the public. To ensure dam safety, it is essential to diagnose any dam distresses and their causes properly. The main objective of this paper is to develop a robust probability-based tool using Bayesian networks for the diagnosis of embankment dam distresses at the global level based on past dam distress data. A database of 993 distressed in-service embankment dams in China has been compiled, including general information on the dams, distresses, and causes. Based on the database, general characteristics of embankment dam distresses are studied using Bayesian networks, which can tackle not only the multiplicity of dam distresses and causes, but also the complex interrelations among them. Common patterns and causes of distresses are identified. The interrelations among the dam distresses and their causes are quantified using conditional probabilities determined based on the historical frequencies from the dam distress database. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to identify and rank the most important factors that cause the distresses. With the prior information of common characteristics extracted from the database, Bayesian networks are further used to diagnose a specific distressed dam at the local level by combining global-level performance records and project-specific evidence in a systematic structure, which is presented in a companion paper.

scholarly journals Combat as an Interpersonal Synergy: An Ecological Dynamics Approach to Combat Sports

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 1825-1836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Krabben ◽  
Dominic Orth ◽  
John van der Kamp
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Control Parameters ◽  
Combat Sports ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Interactive Approach ◽  
Ecological Dynamics ◽  
Skilled Performance ◽  
Initial Support ◽  
And Control

Abstract In combat sports, athletes continuously co-adapt their behavior to that of the opponent. We consider this interactive aspect of combat to be at the heart of skilled performance, yet combat sports research often neglects or limits interaction between combatants. To promote a more interactive approach, the aim of this paper is to understand combat sports from the combined perspective of ecological psychology and dynamic systems. Accordingly, combat athletes are driven by perception of affordances to attack and defend. Two combatants in a fight self-organize into one interpersonal synergy, where the perceptions and actions of both athletes are coupled. To be successful in combat, performers need to manipulate and take advantage of the (in)stability of the system. Skilled performance in combat sports therefore requires brinkmanship: combatants need to be aware of their action boundaries and purposefully act in meta-stable regions on the limits of their capabilities. We review the experimental literature to provide initial support for a synergetic approach to combat sports. Expert combatants seem able to accurately perceive action boundaries for themselves and their opponent. Local-level behavior of individual combatants has been found to lead to spatiotemporal synchronization at the global level of a fight. Yet, a formal understanding of combat as a dynamic system starting with the identification of order and control parameters is still lacking. We conclude that the ecological dynamics perspective offers a promising approach to further our understanding of skilled performance in combat sports, as well as to assist coaches and athletes to promote optimal training and learning.

scholarly journals Switching between the Forest and the Trees: The Contribution of Global to Local Switching to Spatial Constructional Abilities in Typically Developing Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 955
Author(s):  
Isa Zappullo ◽  
Luigi Trojano ◽  
Roberta Cecere ◽  
Gennaro Raimo ◽  
Monica Positano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Local Processing ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Complex Figure ◽  
Construction Tasks ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
Spatial Construction

Background: Spatial analysis encompasses the ability to perceive the visual world by arranging the local elements (“the trees”) into a coherent global configuration (“the forest”). During childhood, this ability gradually switches from a local to a global precedence, which contributes to changes in children’s spatial construction abilities, such as drawing or building blocks. At present, it is not clear whether enhanced global or local processing or, alternatively, whether switching between these two levels best accounts for children’s spatial constructional abilities. Methods: We assessed typically developing children 7 to 8 years old on a global/local switching task and on two widely used spatial construction tasks (the Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure and the Block Design test). Results: The ability to switch from global to local level, rather than a global or a local advantage, best accounted for children’s performance on both spatial construction tasks. Conclusions: The present findings contribute to elucidate the relationship between visual perception and spatial construction in children showing that the ease with which children switch perception from global to local processing is an important factor in their performance on tasks requiring complex drawing and block assembling.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document