Visual spatial interactions between dotted line segments

Abstract

This study examines the interactions that occur between dotted line segments as a function of their separation and orientation using a dotted target detection paradigm. The results of the experiment indicate that it is the separation between interacting pairs of lines rather than shifts in retinal locus that account for the observed decline in detectability as the separation increases. However, factors of global organization or figural goodness seem also to exert a powerful influence on the detectability of the pattern. The results are interpreted in terms of a central, rather than a peripheral, model.