Scene processing is fundamentally influenced and constrained by spatial layout and spatial associations with objects. However, semantic information has played a vital role in propelling our understanding of real-world scene perception forward. In this article, we review recent advances in assessing how spatial layout and spatial relations influence scene processing. We examine the organization of the larger environment and how we take full advantage of spatial configurations independently of semantic information. We demonstrate that a clear differentiation of spatial from semantic information is necessary to advance research in the field of scene processing. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 6 is September 15, 2020. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

When you walk into a room, you perceive visual information that is both close to you and farther in depth. In the current study, we investigated how visual search is affected by information across scene depth and contrasted it with the effect of semantic scene context. Across two experiments, participants performed search for target objects appearing either in the foreground or background regions within scenes that were either normally configured or had semantically mismatched foreground and background contexts (Chimera scenes; Castelhano, Fernandes, & Theriault, 2018). In Experiment 1, we found participants had shorter latencies and fewer fixations to the target. This pattern was not explained by target size. In Experiment 2, a preview of the scene prior to search was added to better establish scene context prior to search. Results again show a Foreground Bias, with faster search performance for foreground targets. Together, these studies suggest processing differences across depth in scenes, with a preference for objects closer in space.

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