PROCESSING INTEGRAL DIMENSIONS - THE WHOLE VIEW

In the traditional view, integral dimensions are said to be processed as unitary wholes and only occasionally analyzed. Converging operation s establish that (a) pitch and loudness and (b) hue, saturation, and b rightness are true psychological dimensions and yet constitute integra l dimensions in just this sense. Recent challenges provided by R. D. M elara, L. E. Marks, and their colleagues are shown to be based on narr ow and faulty interpretations of evidence for privileged axes. They ar e also undermined by strong evidence of the holistic processing of pit ch and loudness and of the dimensions of color that emerge within both their own data and the larger literature. The traditional view-includ ing the strong claim that integrality entails mandatory holistic proce ssing-continues to fare very well as an account of a substantial and v aried set of findings.