Interpersonal prior information informs ensemble coding through the co-representation process.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Social Cognition

Background:

• Ensemble coding allows rapid extraction of summary statistics from visual arrays.
• Prior individual experiences can bias ensemble perception.
• The influence of interpersonal information on ensemble perception remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether interpersonal prior information biases ensemble perception.
• To explore the role of co-representation in this bias.
• To determine if this bias operates implicitly.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments were conducted involving participants estimating summary statistics of object groupings.
• Experiment 1 examined biases introduced by a co-actor's stimuli.
• Experiment 2 manipulated the social relationship (in-group vs. out-group partner) to test causality.

Main Results:

• Participants' estimations were biased towards their co-actor's stimuli.
• Pairing participants with an out-group partner reduced the bias effect.
• This suggests a causal link between co-representation and biased ensemble perception.

Conclusions:

• Ensemble perception is influenced not only by individual history but also by interpersonal information.
• Co-actor information acts as a top-down, implicit bias on ensemble perception.
• Findings extend understanding of information sources modulating visual perception.