The effect of perceived depth and connectedness on metacontrast functions

When a barely visible target line is briefly flashed within a context of other lines, it is identified more accurately if the lines form a pattern that is perceived as a unified, three-dimensional object. This finding has been called the object-superiority effect [Weisstein and Harris, Science, 186, 752-755 (1974)]. The present study concerns what happens when different context patterns are presented at a variable delay after the target line. The resulting temporal functions of identification accuracy against delay of context pattern differ systematically with two perceptual variables: three-dimensionality and connectedness. The results suggest that differences in the temporal functions correspond to differences in visual response properties elicited by different perceptions of three-dimensionality and connectedness.