Perceptual grouping is crucial to distinguish objects from their background. Recent studies have shown that observers can detect an object that does not have any unique qualities other than unique temporal properties. A crucial question is whether focused attention is needed for this type of grouping. In two visual search experiments, we show that searching for an object defined by temporal grouping can occur in parallel. These findings suggest that focused attention is not needed for temporal grouping to occur. It is proposed that temporal grouping may occur because the neurons representing the changing object elements adopt firing frequencies that cause the visual system to bind these elements together without the need for focused attention.
AdelsonE.FaridH. (1999). Filtering reveals form in temporally-structured displays.Science286, 2331.
2.
AlaisD.BlakeR.LeeS. H. (1998). Visual features that vary together over time group together over space.Nature Neuroscience1, 160–164.
3.
AslinC.BlakeR.ChunM. M. (2002). Perceptual learning of temporal structure.Vision Research42, 3019–3030.
4.
CarrascoM.EvertD. L.ChangI.KatzS. M. (1995). The eccentricity effect: Target eccentricity affects performance on conjunction searches.Perception and Psychophysics57, 1241–1261.
5.
CavanaghP.ArguinM.TreismanA. (1990). Effects of surface medium on visual search for orientation and size features.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance16, 479–491.
6.
EcksteinM. P.ThomasJ. P.PalmerJ.ShimozakiS. S. (2000). A signal detection model predicts the effects of set size on visual search accuracy for feature, conjunction, triple conjunction, and disjunction displays.Perception and Psychophysics62, 425–451.
7.
FahleM.Figure-ground discrimination from temporal information. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B–Biological Sciences1993254199–203.
8.
FahleM.KochC. (1995). Spatial displacement, but not temporal asynchrony, destroys figural binding.Vision Research35, 491–494.
JiangY. H.ChunM. M.MarksL. E. (2002). Visual marking: Selective attention to asynchronous temporal groups.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance28, 717–730.
11.
KandilF. I.FahleM. (2004). Figure–ground segregation can rely on differences in motion direction.Vision Research44, 3177–3182.
12.
KimM. S.CaveK. R. (1995). Spatial attention in visual search for features and feature conjunctions.Psychological Science6, 376–380.
13.
LeeS. H.BlakeR. (1999a). Response to: Adelson and Farid.Science286, 2231.
14.
LeeS. H.BlakeR. (1999b). Visual form created solely from temporal structure.Science284, 1165–1168.
15.
McLeodP.DriverJ.CrispJ. (1988). Visual search for a conjunction of movement and form is parallel.NatureMarch332, 154–155.
16.
MooreC. M.EgethH. (1997). Perception without attention: Evidence of grouping under conditions of inattention.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance23, 339–352.
17.
MorganM.CastetE.High temporal frequency synchrony is insufficient for perceptual grouping. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Science2002269513–516.
18.
OliversC. N. L.van der HelmP. A. (1998). Symmetry and selective attention: A dissociation between effortless perception and serial search.Perception and Psychophysics60, 1101–1116.
19.
PintoY.OliversC. N. L.TheeuwesJ. (2006). When is search for a static target among dynamic distractors efficient?.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance32, 59–72.
20.
SagiD.JuleszJ. (1987). Short-range limitations on detection of feature differences.Spatial Vision2, 39–49.
21.
SchneiderW.EschmanA.ZuccolottoA. (2002). E-prime (version 1.1)Pittsburgh, PA: Psychological Software Tools, Inc.
22.
SekulerA. B.BennettP. J. (2001). Generalized common fate: Grouping by common luminance changes.Psychological Science12, 437–444.
23.
ShadlenM. N.MovshonJ. A. (1999). Synchrony unbound: A critical evaluation of the temporal binding hypothesis.Neuron24, 67–77.
24.
SingerW.GrayC. M. (1995). Visual feature integration and the temporal correlation hypothesis.Annual Review of Neuroscience18, 555–586.
25.
TownsendJ. T. (1972). Some results concerning the identifiability of parallel and serial processes.British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology25, 168–199.
26.
WertheimerM. (1923). Untersuchungen zue Lehre von der Gestalt [Laws of organization in perceptual forms].Psychologische Forschung4, 301–355.
