Microgenetic analysis of transparency perception

Microgenetic analysis of hidden figures

In this study the phenomenological and processual aspects of the perception of hidden figures were compared. The question was whether the more probable percepts of hidden figures, compared to the less probable percepts, were generated in earlier stages of the perceptual process. In the pilot study the subjects were asked to say what they see in a complex linear pattern. The three most frequent and the three least frequent perceptual descriptions were selected. In the experiment the microgenesis of the perception of hidden figures was investigated. The primed matching paradigm and the same-different task were used. In each experiment two types of test figures were contrasted: the more frequent and the less frequent ones. There were two prime types: identical (equal to test figures) and complex (the pattern with hidden test figures). The prime duration was varied, 50 ms and 400 ms. The main result indicates that in the case of complex priming the more frequent test figures were processed significantly faster than the less frequent ones in both prime duration conditions. These results suggest that the faster the processing of a figure, the more probable the perceptual generation of this figure.