Serial dependence occurs at the level of both features and integrated object representations

Object perception depends on mechanisms that transform the information received by our sensory receptors into a coherent and meaningful experience. Visual objects are made up of visual features (e.g., shape, color, orientation), which are, in large part, processed in parallel across different brain areas. The experience of unified objects thus requires binding features and brain signals. Our perception of objects is remarkably stable and constant, despite changes in the proximal stimulus caused by eye and body movements or changes in ambient lighting. Such spurious changes are not perceived. Object perception thus also depends on a mechanism that smooths perceptual samples across time, which has been called the continuity field and is quantified by serial dependence. In two studies, the relative levels of feature binding and serial dependence were examined. Participants reported perceived shape or emotional expression; reports were attracted to stimuli seen in the recent past. Results further show that serial dependence occurs both at the level of features and at the level of objects defined by a conjunction of features. The relative level of serial dependence depends on the type of feature or object: Serial dependence of shape occurs mostly independently of other features that define an object, whereas serial dependence of emotional expression occurs on the object-level representation that integrates several features. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).