Relative Dominance of Holistic and Component Properties in the Perceptual Organization of Visual Objects

This chapter defines properties that depend upon the interrelations among component parts as "holistic". The component parts often refer to simple oriented lines. The discussion holds that the facial features (e.g., eyes, nose, and lips) in the face-perception literature are themselves holistic configurations. It points out that the "local first, holistic later" view is based on a logical analysis of how complex features are constructed from simple features. It argues that the logical structure of the stimulus does not necessarily predict the processing sequence. It summarizes evidence that configural/holistic properties like closure can be available early in the course of visual processing.