Form Perception without Attention

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Abstract
Methods were devised which made it possible for subjects to look directly at novel forms without attending to them. In one method a state of inattention was achieved without the use of distracting or competing material whereas in a second method the subjects selectively attended to one series of moving figures rather than another simultaneously presented series. While recognition of form directly afterward was excellent even under incidental conditions with attention it was poor or at a chance level without attention. The results suggest that without attention memory of the specific shape of a figure is not established although there is memory for certain other general characteristics of the figure. It is argued that this failure of adequate trace formation results from the failure to “describe” the spatial relations which characterize a figure. It is suggested that such a process of description constitutes the essence of form perception and does not occur without attention.

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