Submission 689
What Compound Figures Can Tell Us About the Fast-Same Effect
Posterwall-04
Presented by: Aleksandar Bulajic
When two figures are judged to be either "same" or "different," "same" responses are typically faster than "different" responses. One explanation for this "fast-same" effect (FSE) relies on dual processes: a fast, holistic process that detects sameness across stimulus dimensions versus a slow, analytic process that checks for differences within stimulus dimensions. However, a competing, parsimonious, one-process explanation exists. The issue remains unresolved due to the difficulty of reliably demonstrating holistic and analytic processing in same-different tasks. To address this issue, we applied the same-different task to a class of figures for which holistic and analytic processes are well-established: classical Navon compound figures. These figures have a hierarchical structure with global and local levels. Global precedence effects in these figures indicate holistic processing at the global level and analytic processing at the local level. Accordingly, an FSE was predicted for same-different comparisons of Navon stimuli at the global level, but not at the local level. The FSE appeared as predicted for global targets but in addition also for local targets when there was global level sameness. This could plausibly be attributed to facilitation of local "same" responses from the global level. Our results clearly demonstrate the role of both analytic and holistic processes in the same/different task, supporting the dual-process theory of same/different judgments.