VISUAL-ATTENTION AND OBJECTS - ONE VERSUS 2 OR CONVEX VERSUS CONCAVE

According to object-based theories of visual attention, attention can be divided within a single object more efficiently than between separa te objects (J. Duncan, 1984). Recently, G. C. Baylis and J. Driver (19 93) provided a theoretical framework for interpreting this single-obje ct advantage within the domain of spatial organization. Using their hi erarchical coding of location hypothesis, they showed that the latency to compare the location of 2 vertices was significantly faster for ve rtices that were seen as parts of a single (convex) object than for ve rtices that were seen as parts of separate (concave) objects. This art icle reports the replication of this finding, as well as new evidence that shows that latency is affected by the convexity of the contour, a nd not by the number of objects.