Questions and Answers
What does FIT stand for?
Feature Integration Theory
FIT follows the idea that features are selected attentively.
False
What role does attention play in the integration of features according to FIT?
Attention is needed to integrate features together.
According to Treisman and Gelade, what types of features are integrated in pre-attentive vision?
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What is the attentional spotlight?
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What did Treisman and Gelade find regarding distinctive features in their study?
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What happens when attention is overloaded according to Treisman and Schmidt?
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What did Driver and McLeod find regarding parallel search?
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What was a notable finding from Nakayama & Silverman in 1986?
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What did Wolfe et al. (1989) find regarding simple shape and color features?
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What conclusion can be drawn about the evidence for FIT from visual search tasks?
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Study Notes
Feature Integration Theory (FIT)
- FIT posits that visual features (color, orientation, motion) are processed preattentively, and attention is needed to integrate these features into coherent objects (Treisman, 1988).
- The theory focuses specifically on how visual features are combined to form a single perception.
Function of Attention
- Features are separately coded in pre-attentive vision, discovered through brain studies (Zeki, 1976).
- The integration of these features poses challenges because they reside in different brain cortices.
Attentional Spotlight
- Focusing attention on specific locations aids in selecting certain features while suppressing others to prevent erroneous binding (Treisman, 1996).
Evidence Supporting FIT
- Parallel processing occurs for individual features; however, serial attentive processing is needed for conjunctions of features.
- Treisman and Gelade (1980) found that reaction times increase with the number of distractors when searching for conjunctions, indicating serial processing for feature binding.
Illusory Conjunctions
- FIT predicts that overloaded attention may result in incorrect feature combinations known as illusory conjunctions.
- Treisman and Schmidt (1982) demonstrated that participants made more conjunction errors than feature errors when recalling a display of digits and colored letters due to attention diversion.
- Alternative view (Tsal, 1989): Binding errors might stem from memory failures rather than faulty attention allocation.
Evidence Against FIT
- Driver and McLeod (1992) found that conjunctions of motion and orientation can be processed in parallel, contradicting FIT’s claim of needing serial attention for conjunctions.
- Nakayama and Silverman (1986) identified parallel processing for conjunctions of stereoscopic disparity and color, hinting at different processing mechanisms.
- Wolfe et al. (1989) observed parallel searches for conjunctions of shape and color, arguing that attention did not increase with distraction. This supports a guided search theory where salient features form perceptual groups, simplifying visual tasks.
Conclusion
- Visual search tasks and the theory of illusory conjunctions provide strong support for FIT, despite evidence indicating limitations in specific conjunction situations.
- Overall, varying evidence suggests the theory's validity while highlighting areas for further exploration.
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Description
This quiz covers the fundamentals of the Feature Integration Theory (FIT) as proposed by Treisman. It emphasizes how visual features like color, orientation, and motion are integrated to form coherent objects, along with various perspectives on its implications. Test your understanding of these essential concepts in visual perception.
