Hoffman D D, Singh M
Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine 92697, USA.
Cognition. 1997 Apr;63(1):29-78. doi: 10.1016/s0010-0277(96)00791-3.
Many objects have component parts, and these parts often differ in their visual salience. In this paper we present a theory of part salience. The theory builds on the minima rule for defining part boundaries. According to this rule, human vision defines part boundaries at negative minima of curvature on silhouettes, and along negative minima of the principal curvatures on surfaces. We propose that the salience of a part depends on (at least) three factors: its size relative to the whole object, the degree to which it protrudes, and the strength of its boundaries. We present evidence that these factors influence visual processes which determine the choice of figure and ground. We give quantitative definitions for the factors, visual demonstrations of their effects, and results of psychophysical experiments.
许多物体都有组成部分，而且这些部分在视觉显著性上往往存在差异。在本文中，我们提出了一种关于部分显著性的理论。该理论基于用于定义部分边界的最小值规则。根据这一规则，人类视觉在轮廓上曲率为负的最小值处以及曲面上主曲率为负的最小值处定义部分边界。我们提出，一个部分的显著性（至少）取决于三个因素：它相对于整个物体的大小、它突出的程度以及其边界的强度。我们提供证据表明，这些因素会影响决定图形与背景选择的视觉过程。我们给出了这些因素的定量定义、它们效果的视觉演示以及心理物理学实验的结果。
