A reversal in the direction of detection asymmetry: Effects of spatial density, spatial regularity, and retinal eccentricity

We analyzed detection asymmetry, using open and closed squares as target and context elements. It was found that varying density, regularity, and target eccentricity not only can modulate the amount of asymmetry, but also can produce a reversal in the direction of the asymmetry. The results suggest that the different stimuli are processed with different grains of analysis, consisting of in some cases, single elements and their properties and, in other cases, larger units of the stimulus array and more global properties. A detection task that can utilize the properties that are available with a given grain of analysis would show an advantage over a task for which the given grain of analysis is not as favorable, resulting in detection asymmetry in one direction or another.