Voluntary control of illusory contour formation

William J. Harrison; Reuben Rideaux

doi:10.3758/s13414-019-01678-8

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Voluntary control of illusory contour formation

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Voluntary control of illusory contour formation

William J. Harrison and Reuben Rideaux

Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, Vol.81, pp.1522-1531

2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-019-01678-8

PMID: 30761501

Abstract

object-based attention

cognitive and attentional control

grouping

segmentation

The extent to which visual inference is shaped by attentional goals is unclear. Voluntary attention may simply modulate the priority with which information is accessed by the higher cognitive functions involved in perceptual decision making. Alternatively, voluntary attention may influence fundamental visual processes, such as those involved in segmenting an incoming retinal signal into a structured scene of coherent objects, thereby determining perceptual organization. Here we tested whether the segmentation and integration of visual form can be determined by an observer’s goals, by exploiting a novel variant of the classical Kanizsa figure. We generated predictions about the influence of attention with a machine classifier and tested these predictions with a psychophysical response classification technique. Despite seeing the same image on each trial, observers’ perception of illusory spatial structure depended on their attentional goals. These attention-contingent illusory contours directly conflicted with other, equally plausible visual forms implied by the geometry of the stimulus, revealing that attentional selection can determine the perceived layout of a fragmented scene. Attentional goals, therefore, not only select precomputed features or regions of space for prioritized processing, but under certain conditions also greatly influence perceptual organization, and thus visual appearance.

Details

Title: Voluntary control of illusory contour formation
Authors: William J. Harrison (Corresponding Author) - University of Cambridge
Reuben Rideaux (Author) - University of Cambridge
Publication details: Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, Vol.81, pp.1522-1531
Publisher: Springer New York LLC
DOI: 10.3758/s13414-019-01678-8
ISSN: 1943-393X
PMID: 30761501
Data Availability: Data and analysis code are available via the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/42sp8/.
Grants: Novel approaches to understanding peripheral vision in patients with central vision loss, 1091257, National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - NHMRC
Grant note: This research was supported by funding to W.J.H. from King’s College Cambridge, and by funding to R.R. (ECF-2017-573) from the Leverhulme Trust.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Psychology
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99996798202621
Output Type: Journal article