Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
Published on: June 3, 2013
Primacy of wholistic processing and global/local paradigm: a critical review
1Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Israel.
Abstract:
The question of whether perception is analytic or wholistic is an enduring issue in psychology. The global-precedence hypothesis, considered by many as a modern version of the Gestaltist claim about the perceptual primacy of wholes, has generated a large body of research, but the debate still remains very active. This article reviews the research within the global/local paradigm, and critically analyzes the assumptions underlying this paradigm. The extent to which this line of research contributes to understanding the role of wholistic processing in object perception is discussed. It is concluded that one should be very cautious in making inferences about wholistic processing from the processing advantage of the global level of stimulus structure. A distinction is proposed between global properties, defined by their position in the hierarchical structure of the stimulus, and wholistic properties, defined as a function of interrelations among component parts. It is suggested that a direct comparison between processing of wholistic and component properties is needed to support the hypothesis about the perceptual primacy of wholistic processing.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Structuralism
Titchener's approach to structuralism was unique. He employed introspection, a method...
Gestalt Psychology
Humanistic Psychology
This approach...
Cognitivism
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process information is...
Parallel Processing
First Impression

