Kurylo D D
Psychology Department, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME 04011, USA.
Percept Psychophys. 1997 Jan;59(1):142-7. doi: 10.3758/bf03206856.
An investigation was made of the time course of perceptual grouping that is based on two qualitatively different spatial relationships: proximity and alignment. An index of grouping capacity was used to assess the processing time required before a backward pattern mask interfered with grouping. Stimuli consisted of bistable arrays of disjunct dots that were followed by a mask. Grouping cues, either proximity or alignment, were randomly assigned to either the horizontal or vertical orientation, and subjects indicated whether the dots appeared grouped as a series of horizontal or vertical lines. Spatial metrics of the cues were systematically altered until they no longer served as a cue for grouping thereby determining the grouping threshold. The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of the mask, relative to the test stimulus, ranged from 33.3 to 150 msec. The SOA at which grouping thresholds first became elevated identified the point at which the mask first interfered with the grouping process, thereby identifying the processing time required for grouping by the specified cue. The processing time for grouping by proximity and alignment differed significantly, requiring means of 87.6 and 118.8 msec, respectively, for processing to be completed. These measurements serve to identify the processing time necessary for spatially integrating stimulus elements into unified forms, thereby delineating temporal constraints at this stage of visual processing.
对基于两种性质不同的空间关系（接近性和对齐性）的知觉分组的时间进程进行了研究。使用分组能力指数来评估在反向模式掩蔽干扰分组之前所需的处理时间。刺激由分离点的双稳态阵列组成，随后是一个掩蔽。分组线索（接近性或对齐性）被随机分配到水平或垂直方向，受试者指出这些点是否呈现为一系列水平或垂直线条的分组。线索的空间度量被系统地改变，直到它们不再作为分组线索，从而确定分组阈值。相对于测试刺激，掩蔽的刺激起始异步（SOA）范围为33.3至150毫秒。分组阈值首次升高时的SOA确定了掩蔽首次干扰分组过程的点，从而确定了通过指定线索进行分组所需的处理时间。通过接近性和对齐性进行分组的处理时间有显著差异，完成处理分别需要平均87.6毫秒和118.8毫秒。这些测量有助于确定将刺激元素空间整合为统一形式所需的处理时间，从而描绘出视觉处理这一阶段的时间限制。
