ABSTRACT
The real world is made up of objects that make an impression on our senses and produce an organized and significant perceptual experience. The identification of objects constitutes one of the most important activities in human cognition. One object may be perceived in a global way, whereas another is perceived in an analytic way. Furthermore, the same object can be perceived analytically in some cases and yet globally in others. What factors influence these differences and changes in the mode of processing? In addition, individual differences have been found in the perception of multidimensional stimuli. Whereas some subjects process information in an analytic manner, others process the same information in a holistic manner (Cooper, 1982). For some time, several investigators have dedicated their research programs to the study of the mental representation of stimuli, and nowadays this is a research subject that attracts a good number of investigators (Cooper & Shepard, 1973; Cooper, Mumaw, & Morrow, 1984; Garner, 1974; Krantz & Tversky, 1975; Palmer, 1977, 1978; Pomerantz, 1981; Shepp, 1983).
