The Precedence of Global Features in the Perception of Map Symbols
Abstract
This research investigated the role of global precedence in visual perceptual processing. Researchers evaluated the effect of global features on the speed and accuracy of detecting map symbols. The global precedence position suggests that perception proceeds temporally, through stages, from the recognition of global features to a more local, finegrained analysis of individual elements. The study was conducted to compare performance (speed and accuracy) in a symbol-alone condition with that in various symbol-plus- distractor conditions. Scaling techniques (Multidimensional Scaling Analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis) were applied to an existing database of map symbols to categorize global (general) and local (detailed) features of the symbols. Following this, a detection task was performed to determine the level of interference in detecting target symbols of various global categories when distractor symbols were present. The response latency and accuracy measures from the detection study were analyzed using a one-way repeated measures ANOVA, followed by planned comparisons between target-distractor category means. The research shows that the response latency measure discriminates well among symbol-distractor conditions, but the accuracy measure does not. First analysis of the data did not reflect the impact of global precedence in all cases. Further analysis revealed that local feature similarity played a more prominent role in discriminating symbol groups than was originally suspected.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA203792
Entities
People
- Beverly G. Knapp
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences