Beyond Gist: Strategic and Incremental Information Accumulation for Scene Categorization

George L. Malcolm, Antje Nuthmann, Philippe G Schyns

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Research on scene categorization generally concentrates on gist processing, particularly the speed and minimal features with which the "story" of a scene can be extracted. However, this focus has led to a paucity of research into how scenes are categorized at specific hierarchical levels (e.g., a scene could be a road or more specifically a highway); consequently, research has disregarded a potential diagnostically driven feedback process. We presented participants with scenes that were low-pass filtered so only their gist was revealed, while a gaze-contingent window provided the fovea with full-resolution details. By recording where in a scene participants fixated prior to making a basic- or subordinate-level judgment, we identified the scene information accrued when participants made either categorization. We observed a feedback process, dependent on categorization level, that systematically accrues sufficient and detailed diagnostic information from the same scene. Our results demonstrate that during scene processing, a diagnostically driven bidirectional interplay between top-down and bottom-up information facilitates relevant category processing.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1087-1097
JournalPsychological Science
Volume25
Issue number5
Early online date6 Mar 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

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