Perception of Objects in Natural Scenes: Is It Really Attention Free?
Abstract
Studies have suggested attention-free semantic processing of natural scenes in which concurrent tasks leave category detection unimpaired (e.g., F. Li, R. VanRullen, C. Koch, & P. Perona, 2002). Could this ability reflect detection of disjunctive feature sets rather than high-level binding? Participants detected an animal target in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) sequence and then reported its identity and location. They frequently failed to identify or to localize targets that they had correctly detected, suggesting that detection was based only on partial processing. Detection of targets was considerably worse in sequences that also contained humans, presumably because of shared features. When 2 targets were presented in RSVP, a prolonged attentional blink appeared that was almost eliminated when both targets were detected without being identified. The results suggest rapid feature analysis mediating detection, followed by attention-demanding binding for identification and localization.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Key to the recognition performance of the model is the large number of tuned units across its hierarchical architecture, which is a direct consequence of learning from natural images and represents a redundant dictionary of fragment-like features that span a range of selectivities and invariances.
“Key to the recognition performance of the model is the large number of tuned units across its hierarchical architecture, which is a direct consequence of the learning from natural images and represent a redundant dictionary of fragment-like features (12, 17, 41) that span a range of selectivities and invariances.”
From A feedforward architecture accounts for rapid categorization (2007) · cites this paper as [41]
Our results agree with several theories of visual processing that suggest that an initial feedforward sweep driven by bottom-up inputs builds a base representation that relies on a basic dictionary of generic features before more complex tasks or visual routines can take place through recurrent projections from higher areas.
“Our results indeed agree with several theories of visual processing that suggest that an initial feedforward sweep driven by bottom-up inputs builds a base representation that relies on a basic dictionary of generic features (11-13, 17, 41) before more complex tasks or visual routines can take place through recurrent projections from higher areas (20, 42, 43, 45).”
From A feedforward architecture accounts for rapid categorization (2007) · cites this paper as [41]
Cites
A feature-integration theory of attention.
Treisman, A. M., & Gelade, G. (1980) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(80)90005-5 · Cited by 12,366 · see citing works
Self-citationPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. B
Press, H. (1886) · Cited by 10,087 · see citing works
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory
Bourne, L. E. (1977) · Cited by 4,328 · see citing works
Speed of processing in the human visual system
Thorpe, S., Fize, D., & Marlot, C. (1996) · Nature · doi:10.1038/381520a0 · Cited by 3,538 · see citing works
To See or not to See: The Need for Attention to Perceive Changes in Scenes
Rensink, R. A., O'Regan, J. K., & Clark, J. J. (1997) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00427.x · Cited by 2,372 · see citing works
Temporary suppression of visual processing in an RSVP task: An attentional blink?
Raymond, J. E., Shapiro, K. L., & Arnell, K. M. (1992) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037//0096-1523.18.3.849 · Cited by 2,276 · see citing works
Feature analysis in early vision: Evidence from search asymmetries.
Treisman, A., & Gormican, S. (1988) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.95.1.15 · Cited by 2,260 · see citing works
Self-citationThe reviewing of object files: Object-specific integration of information
Kahneman, D., Treisman, A., & Gibbs, B. J. (1992) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(92)90007-o · Cited by 2,218 · see citing works
Self-citationFeatures and Objects: The Fourteenth Bartlett Memorial Lecture
Treisman, A. (1988) · The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A · doi:10.1080/02724988843000104 · Cited by 1,751 · see citing works
Self-citationTemporary suppression of visual processing in an RSVP task: an attentional blink?
Raymond, J. E., Shapiro, K. L., & Arnell, K. M. (1992) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance · doi:10.1037/0096-1523.18.3.849 · Cited by 1,649 · see citing works
Mack, A., & Rock, I. (1998) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/3707.001.0001 · Cited by 1,611 · see citing works
Visual properties of neurons in inferotemporal cortex of the Macaque.
Gross, C. G., Rocha‐Miranda, C. E., & Bender, D. B. (1972) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.1972.35.1.96 · Cited by 1,488 · see citing works
A two-stage model for multiple target detection in rapid serial visual presentation.
Chun, M. M., & Potter, M. C. (1995) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037//0096-1523.21.1.109 · Cited by 1,431 · see citing works
Inferotemporal cortex and object vision
Tanaka, K. (1996) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.ne.19.030196.000545 · Cited by 1,402 · see citing works
Hochstein (2002) · doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(02)01091-7 · Cited by 1,397 · see citing works
Illusory conjunctions in the perception of objects
Treisman, A., & Schmidt, H. J. (1982) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(82)90006-8 · Cited by 1,361 · see citing works
Self-citationShifting Intentional Set: Exploring the Dynamic Control of Tasks
(1994) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/1478.003.0025 · Cited by 1,317 · see citing works
MRC psycholinguistic database: Machine-usable dictionary, version 2.00
Wilson, M. (1988) · Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers · doi:10.3758/bf03202594 · Cited by 1,191 · see citing works
Treisman, A. (1996) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/s0959-4388(96)80070-5 · Cited by 1,157 · see citing works
Self-citationSimons, D. J., & Levin, D. T. (1997) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(97)01080-2 · Cited by 1,039 · see citing works
Short-term conceptual memory for pictures.
Potter, M. C. (1976) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Learning & Memory · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.2.5.509 · Cited by 1,022 · see citing works
A two-stage model for multiple target detection in rapid serial visual presentation.
Chun, M. M., & Potter, M. C. (1995) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/0096-1523.21.1.109 · Cited by 906 · see citing works
Perceptual load as a major determinant of the locus of selection in visual attention
Lavie, N., & Tsal, Y. (1994) · Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/bf03213897 · Cited by 870 · cited 1× · see citing works
“(following the load theory of attention proposed by Lavie, 1994 ).”
BackgroundRapid natural scene categorization in the near absence of attention
Fei-Fei, L., Rufin Vanrullen, A., Christof Koch, A., & Perona, P. (2002) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.092277599 · Cited by 833 · see citing works
Task difficulty and the specificity of perceptual learning
Ahissar, M., & Hochstein, S. (1997) · Nature · doi:10.1038/387401a0 · Cited by 823 · see citing works
Vogel, E. K., Luck, S. J., & Shapiro, K. L. (1998) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037//0096-1523.24.6.1656 · Cited by 764 · see citing works
Feature binding, attention and object perception
Treisman, A. (1998) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0284 · Cited by 754 · see citing works
Self-citationCompetition for consciousness among visual events: The psychophysics of reentrant visual processes.
Lollo, V. D., Enns, J. T., & Rensink, R. A. (2000) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037//0096-3445.129.4.481 · Cited by 722 · see citing works
From detection to identification: Response to multiple targets in rapid serial visual presentation
Broadbent, D. E., & Broadbent, M. (1987) · Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/bf03210498 · Cited by 708 · see citing works
The Time Course of Visual Processing: From Early Perception to Decision-Making
Rufin Vanrullen, A., & Thorpe, S. J. (2001) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/08989290152001880 · Cited by 703 · see citing works
Biederman, I. (1972) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.177.4043.77 · Cited by 683 · see citing works
Stages of processing in face perception: an MEG study
Jia Liu, B., Harris, A. M., & Kanwisher, N. (2002) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn909 · Cited by 683 · see citing works
Perception of shape from shading
Ramachandran, V. S. (1988) · Nature · doi:10.1038/331163a0 · Cited by 681 · see citing works
Change-blindness as a result of ‘mudsplashes’
O'Regan, J. K., Rensink, R. A., & Clark, J. J. (1999) · Nature · doi:10.1038/17953 · Cited by 679 · see citing works
Visual features of intermediate complexity and their use in classification
Ullman, S., Vidal-Naquet, M., & Sali, E. (2002) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn870 · Cited by 600 · see citing works
Potter, M. C. (1975) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1145183 · Cited by 594 · see citing works
Competition for consciousness among visual events: The psychophysics of reentrant visual processes.
Lollo, V. D., Enns, J. T., & Rensink, R. A. (2000) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.129.4.481 · Cited by 583 · see citing works
Visual categorization shapes feature selectivity in the primate temporal cortex
Sigala, N., & Logothetis, N. K. (2002) · Nature · doi:10.1038/415318a · Cited by 559 · see citing works
Vogel, E. K., Luck, S. J., & Shapiro, K. L. (1998) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/0096-1523.24.6.1656 · Cited by 514 · see citing works
Attentional requirements in a ‘preattentive’ feature search task
Joseph, J. S., Chun, M. M., & Nakayama, K. (1997) · Nature · doi:10.1038/42940 · Cited by 406 · see citing works
Preattentive Object Files: Shapeless Bundles of Basic Features
WOLFE, J. M., & BENNETT, S. C. (1997) · Vision Research · doi:10.1016/s0042-6989(96)00111-3 · Cited by 349 · see citing works
A Limit to the Speed of Processing in Ultra-Rapid Visual Categorization of Novel Natural Scenes
Fabre‐Thorpe, M., Arnaud Delorme, A., Marlot, C., & Thorpe, S. J. (2001) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/089892901564234 · Cited by 339 · see citing works
Emergent features, attention, and object perception.
Treisman, A., & Paterson, R. (1984) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037//0096-1523.10.1.12 · Cited by 330 · see citing works
Self-citationPotter, M. C., Chun, M. M., Banks, B. S., & Muckenhoupt, M. (1998) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1037//0278-7393.24.4.979 · Cited by 321 · see citing works
Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? Ultra-Rapid Visual Categorisation of Natural and Artifactual Objects
Rufin Vanrullen, A., & Thorpe, S. J. (2001) · Perception · doi:10.1068/p3029 · Cited by 314 · see citing works
Parallel processing in high-level categorization of natural images
Rousselet, G. A., Fabre‐Thorpe, M., & Thorpe, S. J. (2002) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn866 · Cited by 306 · see citing works
The Neural Fate of Consciously Perceived and Missed Events in the Attentional Blink
Marois, R., Yi, D.-J., & Chun, M. M. (2004) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(04)00012-1 · Cited by 306 · see citing works
Seeking Categories in the Brain
Thorpe, S. J., & Fabre-Thorpe, M. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1058249 · Cited by 300 · see citing works
Beyond the attentional blink: Visual masking by object substitution.
Giesbrecht, B., & Lollo, V. D. (1998) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037//0096-1523.24.5.1454 · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Learning perceptual skills: behavioral probes into adult cortical plasticity
Karni, A., & Bertini, G. (1997) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/s0959-4388(97)80033-5 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Delayed working memory consolidation during the attentional blink
Vogel, E. K., & Luck, S. J. (2002) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/bf03196329 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Sheinberg, D. L., & Logothetis, N. K. (2001) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.21-04-01340.2001 · Cited by 242 · see citing works
Localizing Visual Discrimination Processes in Time and Space
Hopf, J., Vogel, E. K., Woodman, G. F., Heinze, H., & Luck, S. J. (2002) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.2002.88.4.2088 · Cited by 240 · see citing works
Visual Categorization and the Primate Prefrontal Cortex: Neurophysiology and Behavior
Freedman, D. J., Riesenhuber, M., Poggio, T., & Miller, E. K. (2002) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.2002.88.2.929 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Preattentive recovery of three-dimensional orientation from line drawings.
Enns, J. T., & Rensink, R. A. (1991) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.98.3.335 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Potter, M. C., Chun, M. M., Banks, B. S., et al. (1998) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.24.4.979 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
“Rapid Categorization of Natural Images by Rhesus Monkeys”
Fabre-Thorpe, M., Richard, G., & Thorpe, S. J. (1998) · NeuroReport · doi:10.1097/00001756-199801260-00023 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
Is it an animal? Is it a human face? Fast processing in upright and inverted natural scenes
Rousselet, G. A., Macé, M. J.-M., & Fabre-Thorpe, M. (2003) · Journal of Vision · doi:10.1167/3.6.5 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Detection of animals in natural images using far peripheral vision
Thorpe, S. J., Gegenfurtner, K. R., Fabre‐Thorpe, M., & Bülthoff, H. (2001) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1046/j.0953-816x.2001.01717.x · Cited by 197 · see citing works
How parallel is visual processing in the ventral pathway?
Rousselet, G. A., Thorpe, S. J., & Fabre‐Thorpe, M. (2004) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2004.06.003 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Emergent features, attention, and object perception.
Treisman, A., & Paterson, R. (1984) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/0096-1523.10.1.12 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Receptive Fields of Inferior Temporal Cortex Neurons in Natural Scenes
Rolls, E. T., Aggelopoulos, N. C., & Zheng, F. (2003) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.23-01-00339.2003 · Cited by 179 · see citing works
Arnaud Delorme, A., Richard, G., & Fabre‐Thorpe, M. (2000) · Vision Research · doi:10.1016/s0042-6989(00)00083-3 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Categorization of complex visual images by rhesus monkeys. Part 2: single‐cell study
Vogels, R. (1999) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1046/j.1460-9568.1999.00531.x · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Low-level masking in the attentional blink.
Seiffert, A. E., & Lollo, V. D. (1997) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037//0096-1523.23.4.1061 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Inattentional Blindness: Perception without Attention
Mack, A., & Rock, I. (1998) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780195126938.003.0003 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Beyond the attentional blink: Visual masking by object substitution.
Giesbrecht, B., & Lollo, V. D. (1998) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/0096-1523.24.5.1454 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Levin, D. T., Takarae, Y., Miner, A. G., & Keil, F. C. (2001) · Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/bf03194429 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
Low-level masking in the attentional blink.
Seiffert, A. E., & Lollo, V. D. (1997) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/0096-1523.23.4.1061 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
Rapid visual learning in neurones of the primate temporal visual cortex
Tovée, M. J., Rolls, E. T., & Ramachandran, V. S. (1996) · Neuroreport · doi:10.1097/00001756-199611040-00070 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Categorization of complex visual images by rhesus monkeys. Part 1: behavioural study
Vogels, R. (1999) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1046/j.1460-9568.1999.00530.x · Cited by 109 · see citing works
New Objects, Not New Features, Trigger the Attentional Blink
Raymond, J. E. (2003) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-9280.01418 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Automatic Segmentation and Classification of Outdoor Images Using Neural Networks
Campbell, N., Thomas, B. T., & Troscianko, T. (1997) · International Journal of Neural Systems · doi:10.1142/s0129065797000161 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Natural scenes upset the visual applecart
Braun, J. (2003) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(02)00008-6 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Robust Object Recognition with Cortex-Like Mechanisms
Serre, T., Wolf, L., Bileschi, S., Riesenhuber, M., & Poggio, T. (2007) · IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence · doi:10.1109/tpami.2007.56 · Cited by 1,667 · see citing works
A feedforward architecture accounts for rapid categorization
Serre, T., Oliva, A., & Poggio, T. (2007) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0700622104 · Cited by 918 · see citing works
GREENE, M., & OLIVA, A. (2009) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cogpsych.2008.06.001 · Cited by 467 · see citing works
The attentional requirements of consciousness
Cohen, M. A., Cavanagh, P., Chun, M. M., & Nakayama, K. (2012) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.06.013 · Cited by 370 · see citing works
Reward guides attention to object categories in real-world scenes.
Hickey, C., Kaiser, D., & Peelen, M. V. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/a0038627 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Cornelissen, T. H. W., & Võ, M. L.-H. (2017) · Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-016-1203-7 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
An embarrassment of richnesses: the PFC isn’t the content NCC
Kozuch, B. (2024) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niae017 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
- Authors
- Evans, K. K., & Treisman, A.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- ORCID
- Evans, Karla K.
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
- Published
- 2005
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1476-1492
- ISSN
- 0096-1523 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1277
- OpenAlex
- W2130250402
- Cited by
- 281
- References
- 74
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 7.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01mh058383-07)
- National Institute of Mental Health (P50 MH62196, 2R01 MH 058383-04A1, P50MH062196)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Keywords
- natural scene perception, attentional blink, rapid serial visual presentation, object detection, object identification, object localization, feature binding, shared features
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Attention, Environment, Female, Humans, Male, Semantics, Visual Perception
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
