Recognizing partially visible objects

In two experiments we measured object recognition performance as a function of delay. In Experiment 1 we presented half of an image of an object, and then the other half after a variable delay. Objects were subdivided into top versus bottom halves, left versus right halves, or vertical strips. In Experiment 2 we separated the low (LSF) and high spatial frequency (HSF) components of an image, and presented one component followed by the other after a variable delay. For both experiments, performance was worse with a 105 ms delay between the presentations of the object components than when the two components were presented simultaneously. These results are consistent with predictions made by models that combine information at a relatively early stage in processing. In addition, the results revealed that object recognition performance is significantly better when the LSF sub-image preceded the HSF sub-image than when the HSF sub-image preceded the LSF sub-image, consistent with previous work suggesting that LSF information is processed prior to HSF in object recognition.