What's in a Location? Comparing Object-Based and Space-Based Models of Feature Integration in Visual Search

What is the unit of selection for feature integration in visual search: location or perceptual object? Feature integration theory (A. Treisman, 1988) asserts that it is location. Two alternative models are put forward and tested in a series of 4 experiments using a special conjunctive-search task. In this task, each stimulus item consists of 2 overlapping forms (perceptual objects). In general, the search was more efficient when the search features were linked to the same perceptual object than when they were linked to different perceptual objects at the same stimulus location. This same-object advantage, however, was shown to depend on stimulus discriminability and density, grouping strength, and hierarchical object structure. The results support a hierarchical object-based model, with important implications for feature integration, visual search, late versus early selection, and object-based versus space-based views of attention.