What is enumerated by subitization mechanisms?

Perception & Psychophysics
Greg Davis, Amanda Holmes

Abstract

Subitization, the rapid enumeration of small numbers of objects, is often held to reflect a general ability to process three or four items simultaneously. However, questions as to which types of visual representations count as items for subitization have, thus far, received relatively little attention. In several new experiments, we instructed participants to enumerate three or four colored regions in a display. In some trials, all of these regions belonged to separate visual objects, whereas in others, two or more belonged to the same object(s). We found far slower enumeration in the latter case than in the former case, a result that cannot be attributed to Stroop interference from the number of attended objects in a display. We conclude that subitization mechanisms cannot operate on small fragments of shape and color alone, even when such fragments are easily individuated from one another. Rather, such mechanisms are compelled to operate on object representations.

References

Aug 1, 1982·Perception & Psychophysics·M P van Oeffelen, P G Vos
Jan 1, 1997·Spatial Vision·J A Burkell, Z W Pylyshyn
Feb 13, 1999·Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance·A Pavese, C Umiltà
Feb 24, 2001·Psychological Research·K F Wender, R Rothkegel

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Citations

Dec 8, 2016·Scientific Reports·Marlene PoncetVeronica Mazza

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