Interactions between two simple visual patterns.

The interaction of linear and dot elements of simple visual patterns was examined. The following patterns were used: short line-dot, long line-dot, right turned angle-dot, downward angle-dot, circle-dot, and two dots. Except for circle-dot and two dots, perception of either of both elements of the composite stimulus deteriorates as compared to perception of the same elements when presented separately. Perception of either element is improved in the case of the circle-dot stimulus, while in the case of two dots the number of errors remained at approximately the same level. It is hypothesized that both susceptibility to influence from the other element in a composite stimulus and intensity of masking effect produced by the given stimulus depend on distance between the information points of masking and masked stimuli. The extent of susceptibility is also connected with perceptual difficulty in identification of a stimulus when presented separately.