Visual cognitive processes have traditionally been examined with simplified stimuli, but generalization of these processes to the real-world is not always straightforward. Using images, computer-generated images, and virtual environments, researchers have examined processing of visual information in the real-world. Although referred to as scene perception, this research field encompasses many aspects of scene processing. Beyond the perception of visual features, scene processing is fundamentally influenced and constrained by semantic information as well as spatial layout and spatial associations with objects. In this review, we will present recent advances in how scene processing occurs within a few seconds of exposure, how scene information is retained in the long-term, and how different tasks affect attention in scene processing. By considering the characteristics of real-world scenes, as well as different time windows of processing, we can develop a fuller appreciation for the research that falls under the wider umbrella of scene processing.

The distinguished contributors to this volume have been set the problem of describing how we know where to move our eyes. There is a great deal of current interest in the use of eye movement recordings to investigate various mental processes. The common theme is that variations in eye movements indicate variations in the processing of what is being perceived, whether in reading, driving or scene perception. However, a number of problems of interpretation are now emerging, and this edited volume sets out to address these problems. The book investigates controversies concerning the variations in eye movements associated with reading ability, concerning the extent to which text is used by the guidance mechanism while reading, concerning the relationship between eye movements and the control of other body movements, the relationship between what is inspected and what is perceived, and concerning the role of visual control attention in the acquisition of complex perceptual-motor skills, in addition to the nature of the guidance mechanism itself. The origins of the volume are in discussions held at a meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCOP) that was held in Wurzburg in September 1996. The discussions concerned the landing effect in reading, an effect, that if substantiated, would provide evidence of the use of parafoveal information in eye guidance, and these discussions were explored in more detail at a small meeting in Chamonix, in February 1997. Many of the contributors to this volume were present at the meeting, but the arguments were not resolved in Chamonix either. Other leaders in the field were invited to contribute to the discussion, and this volume is the product. The argument remains unresolved, but the problem is certainly clearer.

From a barrage of photons, we readily and effortlessly recognize the faces of our friends, and the familiar objects and scenes around us. However, these tasks cannot be simple for our visual systems--faces are all extremely similar as visual patterns, and objects look quite different when viewed from different viewpoints. How do our visual systems solve these problems? The contributors to this volume seek to answer this question by exploring how analytic and holistic processes contribute to our perception of faces, objects, and scenes. The role of parts and wholes in perception has been studied for a century, beginning with the debate between Structuralists, who championed the role of elements, and Gestalt psychologists, who argued that the whole was different from the sum of its parts. This is the first volume to focus on the current state of the debate on parts versus wholes as it exists in the field of visual perception by bringing together the views of the leading researchers. Too frequently, researchers work in only one domain, so they are unaware of the ways in which holistic and analytic processing are defined in different areas. The contributors to this volume ask what analytic and holistic processes are like; whether they contribute differently to the perception of faces, objects, and scenes; whether different cognitive and neural mechanisms code holistic and analytic information; whether a single, universal system can be sufficient for visual-information processing, and whether our subjective experience of holistic perception might be nothing more than a compelling illusion. The result is a snapshot of the current thinking on how the processing of wholes and parts contributes to our remarkable ability to recognize faces, objects, and scenes, and an illustration of the diverse conceptions of analytic and holistic processing that currently coexist, and the variety of approaches that have been brought to bear on the issues.

Numerous spatial biases influence navigation, interactions, and preferences in our environment. This volume considers their influences on perception and memory.

The third edition of Essential Psychology provides a thorough introduction for students and anyone who wishes to gain a strong overview of the field. This team of authors provide a student-friendly guide to Psychology, with a vivid narrative writing style, features designed to stimulate critical thinking and inspire students to learn independently, and online resources for lecturers and students. This comprehensive introductory text is relevant for both the specialist and non-specialist psychology student, challenging those who studied psychology before university while remaining accessible to those who did not. The third edition: - Gives students a firm foundation in all areas covered on accredited British Psychological Society degree courses - Includes new chapters on psychopathology, research methods, language, motivation and emotion, lifespan development, health psychology, forensic psychology and critical social psychology - Relates theory to the real world to help students think about where they will employ their degree after undergraduate study

This volume includes seminal articles published throughout Anne Treisman's scientific career, which are accompanied by chapters from key figures in the field today. These demonstrate the breadth and depth of her influence on research and theory from psychology to vision and auditory sciences.

Cutting-edge research on the visual cognition of scenes, covering issues that include spatial vision, context, emotion, attention, memory, and neural mechanisms underlying scene representation. For many years, researchers have studied visual recognition with objects—single, clean, clear, and isolated objects, presented to subjects at the center of the screen. In our real environment, however, objects do not appear so neatly. Our visual world is a stimulating scenery mess; fragments, colors, occlusions, motions, eye movements, context, and distraction all affect perception. In this volume, pioneering researchers address the visual cognition of scenes from neuroimaging, psychology, modeling, electrophysiology, and computer vision perspectives. Building on past research—and accepting the challenge of applying what we have learned from the study of object recognition to the visual cognition of scenes—these leading scholars consider issues of spatial vision, context, rapid perception, emotion, attention, memory, and the neural mechanisms underlying scene representation. Taken together, their contributions offer a snapshot of our current knowledge of how we understand scenes and the visual world around us. Contributors Elissa M. Aminoff, Moshe Bar, Margaret Bradley, Daniel I. Brooks, Marvin M. Chun, Ritendra Datta, Russell A. Epstein, Michèle Fabre-Thorpe, Elena Fedorovskaya, Jack L. Gallant, Helene Intraub, Dhiraj Joshi, Kestutis Kveraga, Peter J. Lang, Jia Li Xin Lu, Jiebo Luo, Quang-Tuan Luong, George L. Malcolm, Shahin Nasr, Soojin Park, Mary C. Potter, Reza Rajimehr, Dean Sabatinelli, Philippe G. Schyns, David L. Sheinberg, Heida Maria Sigurdardottir, Dustin Stansbury, Simon Thorpe, Roger Tootell, James Z. Wang