Watson, Derrick G., Maylor, Elizabeth A. and Bruce, Lucy A. M.. (2005) The efficiency of feature-based subitization and counting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, Vol.31 (No.6). pp. 1449-1462. ISSN 0096-1523

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Abstract

The enumeration of small numbers of objects (similar to 4) proceeds rapidly, accurately, and with little effort via a process termed subitization. Four experiments examined whether it was possible to subitize the number of features rather than objects present in a display. Overall, the findings showed that when features are presented randomly and are uncorrelated with object numerosity, efficient enumeration is not possible. This suggests that the visual system does not have parallel access to multiple feature maps and that subitization processes operate exclusively on representations coding the locations of objects. The data are discussed with respect to theories of visual enumeration and search.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Visual perception, Attention, Human information processing, Reaction time
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
Publisher:	American Psychological Association/Educational Publishing Foundation
ISSN:	0096-1523
Date:	December 2005
Volume:	Vol.31
Number:	No.6
Number of Pages:	14
Page Range:	pp. 1449-1462
Identification Number:	10.1037/0096-1523.31.6.1449
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Funder:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)
Grant number:	R000239180 (ESRC)
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/34081

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