Chapter 4. Meaningfulness in Figure - Ground Organization

4.1 Title slide

Demonstration 4.1
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You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.
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Meaningfulness in Figure - Ground Organization

Participate in an experiment to assess whether the meaningfulness of shapes affects figure - ground organization.

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At first, we may have trouble seeing what this photo shows. But when we recognize that it is a landscape, we can perceive it as two figures—the landscape and its reflection.
Photo: © Design Pics/Corbis.

Does Meaningfulness Influence Figure–Ground Organization?

It seems reasonable to assume that, in order to recognize an object, we must first identify its shape—that is, we must first perform figure–ground organization, segregating figure from ground so we can assess the figure shape and see if it matches the shape of some object in our memory. However, this assumption appears to be incorrect—that is, it seems that object recognition can occur before figure–ground organization. This was shown in a 1994 experiment by Peterson and Gibson (the experiment on which this demonstration is based). To understand what this observation means, consider the two images below:



For the image on the left, people are about as likely to say that the white part is figure and the black part is ground as they are to say the opposite, that the black part is figure and the white part is ground. For the image on the right, however, people are much more likely to say that the black part is figure and the white part is ground. This is the case even if the image is shown very briefly—for just 100 milliseconds in the present demonstration and for as little as 28 milliseconds in the original 1994 experiment.

The two images are matched in terms of their visual features, such as the overall areas of the black and white regions, so the best explanation for this result is that the meaningfulness of the shape plays a role in identifying figure and ground. That is, it seems that the visual system recognizes the object before performing figure–ground organization.


Images © Peterson, M.A. & Gibson. B.S. (1994). "Must Figure–Ground Organization Precede Object Recognition? An Assumption in Peril." Psychological Science, Vol 5, issue 5, 253-259. This material is reproduced with permission of SAGE Publications.

4.2 Explain

activity_4_1_slide_2
This simulated experiment consists of a sequence of 12 trials. In each trial, you'll see an image like the one below, presented very briefly.
Each image will consist of a black region on the left and a white region on the right or vice versa.
You might perceive the left or right region as "figure" (that is, as having an objectlike shape) and the other region as "ground"
(that is, as a background for the object like shape).
After you see each image, you'll have to indicate which region looked more like "figure"—the region on the left or the region on the right.
CLICK ANYWHERE TO BEGIN

Images © Peterson, M.A. & Gibson. B.S. (1994). "Must Figure–Ground Organization Precede Object Recognition? An Assumption in Peril." Psychological Science, Vol 5, issue 5, 253-259. This material is reproduced with permission of SAGE Publications.

4.3 Explain

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Which region looked more like "figure"?

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Trial 1 of 12

4.4 Explain

explain_text

Your results cannot be displayed because you didn't complete all the trials.
You can finish the trials and see your results, or you can proceed to the next screen.

During this experiment, you saw the 12 images below—6 with upright objectlike shapes and 6 with the objectlike shapes inverted.
You saw each image for just 100 milliseconds (0.1 second).
Participants in this type of experiment typically identify upright objectlike shapes as "figure" significantly more often
than they identify inverted object like shapes as "figure."
How do your results compare to the typical results?
Images with upright objectlike shapes

Images with inverted objectlike shapes

Your results
Upright objectlike shapes you identified as "figure"
0
Inverted objectlike shapes you identified as "figure"
0
Non-objectlike shapes you identified as "figure"
0
Images © Peterson, M.A. & Gibson. B.S. (1994). "Must Figure–Ground Organization Precede Object Recognition? An Assumption in Peril." Psychological Science, Vol 5, issue 5, 253-259. This material is reproduced with permission of SAGE Publications.

4.5 Explain

explain_text

Does Meaningfulness Influence Figure–Ground Organization?

It seems reasonable to assume that, in order to recognize an object, we must first identify its shape—that is, we must first perform figure—ground organization, segregating figure from ground so we can assess the figure shape and see if it matches the shape of some object in our memory. However, this assumption appears to be incorrect—that is, it seems that object recognition can occur before figure–ground organization. This was shown in a 1994 experiment by Peterson and Gibson (the experiment on which this demonstration is based). To understand what this observation means, consider the two images below:

For the image on the left, people are about as likely to say that the white part is figure and the black part is ground as they are to say the opposite, that the black part is figure and the white part is ground. For the image on the right, however, people are much more likely to say that the black part is figure and the white part is ground. This is the case even if the image is shown very briefly—for just 100 milliseconds in the present demonstration and for as little as 28 milliseconds in the original 1994 experiment.

The two images are matched in terms of their visual features, such as the overall areas of the black and white regions, so the best explanation for this result is that the meaningfulness of the shape plays a role in identifying figure and ground. That is, it seems that the visual system recognizes the object before performing figure–ground organization.

Images © Peterson, M.A. & Gibson. B.S. (1994). "Must Figure–Ground Organization Precede Object Recognition? An Assumption in Peril." Psychological Science, Vol 5, issue 5, 253-259. This material is reproduced with permission of SAGE Publications.

4.6 Test - single choice

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Question

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Incorrect.
The correct answer is B.
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Image © Peterson, M.A. & Gibson. B.S. (1994). "Must Figure–Ground Organization Precede Object Recognition? An Assumption in Peril." Psychological Science, Vol 5, issue 5, 253-259. This material is reproduced with permission of SAGE Publications.

4.7 Test - single choice

You must select an answer and then click SUBMIT before you can proceed to the next screen.
test_single_choice

Select your answer to the question below. Then click SUBMIT.

Question

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Incorrect.
The correct answer is A.
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4.8 Test - single choice

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Question

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The correct answer is C.
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4.9 Test - single choice

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The correct answer is C.
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4.10 Activity completed

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