Feature Integration Theory

Feature Integration & Visual Searches:

Perceiving and Recognizing Objects in Space

Introduction

There are a number of theories developed in order to explain how the human brain assesses and perceives stimuli. Among these theories is the feature-integration theory presented in the 1980s by Anne Triesman and Garry Gelade. The theory sates that visual perception of a stimuli occurs in two independent and consecutive stages of processing. In the first stage, all features of the stimuli that can be separated are processed independently by using feature detectors for details of the stimulus such as color, size, and shape (Quinlan, 2013). Feature maps code these features by utilizing specific feature detectors. This stage occurs early in the process

The target that was searched differed in shape and color from the surrounding items. There were 16 practice trials and 64 test trials. Each trial consisted of 1-30 letters of S, T, and X only. If the letter S was presented in any color or any letter is presented in blue, the participant was asked to press the left arrow key. In the event this did not occur, the participant was asked to press the right arrow key. The responses were then timed, with the instructions noting that accuracy is

The first being that when making a visual search, less cognitive function is needed in some instances to execute the search, thus performing visual searches in an almost effortless way. Teachers could apply this theory in the classroom possibly by using a different colored marker when writing important words on the board. When studying, students can utilize this by highlighting the important parts of notes in a different color. However, if this is an automatic function and not something we come to by decision-making, then this leaves room for further error. Feature integration can also result in illusory conjunctions, which results when an individual combines different features of two objects into one (Triesman & Schmidt, 1982). This could be problematic when scanning a scene while driving or in any task in which object difference is essential. While aspects of the visual integration theory continue to change as new research surfaces, the theory itself has laid a foundation to the growing field of visual