Global and local processing in humans (homo sapiens) and chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) : use of a visual search task with compound stimuli.
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Abstract – This research assessed the visual processing of the global and local stimulus features in humans and chimpanzees. In Experiment 1, participants were tested with compound stimuli presented in a visual search task. There was an advantage to process the global stimulus level in humans but not in chimpanzees. The global size and the density of the local elements were manipulated in Experiment 2. Humans showed an overall advantage for processing the global shape. Chimpanzees showed an advantage for processing the local shape in the low-density condition but showed no advantage in the dense conditions. In Experiment 3, chimpanzees showed a global advantage when line segments connected the local elements and a local one when the lines were removed. Together, these results suggest a phylogenetic trend in the way compound stimuli are processed.