Numerosity perception is tuned to salient environmental features

Grasso, Paolo A.; Anobile, Giovanni; Arrighi, Roberto; Burr, David; Cicchini, Guido Marco

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104104

Cited by 16 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Our finding that subitizing mechanisms are non-selective to colour might seem at first sight at odds with Gross et al [ 49 ] finding that numerosity estimation above the subitizing range (12–48 elements) is colour selective only (but not orientation-selective [ 48 ]). The most likely reason for this discrepancy is that in Gross et al [ 49 ] the adaptor and test patterns differed not only in numerosity but also in elements’ density, and therefore, the sense of number and density were intertwined [ 50 – 52 ]. Given that texture-density mechanisms are colour selective [ 53 , 54 ], it is likely that the selectivity to colour found in [ 49 ] is due to texture-density rather than numerosity mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 88%

“…The most likely reason for this discrepancy is that in Gross et al [ 49 ] the adaptor and test patterns differed not only in numerosity but also in elements’ density, and therefore, the sense of number and density were intertwined [ 50 – 52 ]. Given that texture-density mechanisms are colour selective [ 53 , 54 ], it is likely that the selectivity to colour found in [ 49 ] is due to texture-density rather than numerosity mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature is equivocal on the issue of whether there exist colour selective channels for numerosity estimation. One single recent study has examined whether numerosity mechanisms mechanism above the subitizing range are tuned to colour [ 49 ]. Using higher numerosity adapting patterns (48 elements), Grasso et al [ 49 ] reported that numerosity aftereffects induced in lower-numerosity test patterns (12–48 elements) were reduced when the adaptor and test were the same (or perceptually matched in) colour compared to being different in colour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One single recent study has examined whether numerosity mechanisms mechanism above the subitizing range are tuned to colour [ 49 ]. Using higher numerosity adapting patterns (48 elements), Grasso et al [ 49 ] reported that numerosity aftereffects induced in lower-numerosity test patterns (12–48 elements) were reduced when the adaptor and test were the same (or perceptually matched in) colour compared to being different in colour. These authors found a 25% underestimation of test numerosity for matched colours, while different colours had little or no effect on the magnitude of numerosity aftereffect, thus arguing that numerosity mechanisms above the subitizing range are colour-selective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial and chromatic properties of numerosity estimation in isolation and context

Gheorghiu

Goldschmitt

2022

PLoS ONE

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Numerosity estimation around the subitizing range is facilitated by a shape-template matching process and shape-coding mechanisms are selective to visual features such as colour and luminance contrast polarity. Objects in natural scenes are often embedded within other objects or textured surfaces. Numerosity estimation is improved when objects are grouped into small clusters of the same colour, a phenomenon termed groupitizing, which is thought to leverage on the subitizing system. Here we investigate whether numerosity mechanisms around the subitizing range are selective to colour, luminance contrast polarity and orientation, and how spatial organisation of context and target elements modulates target numerosity estimation. Stimuli consisted of a small number (3-to-6) of target elements presented either in isolation or embedded within context elements. To examine selectivity to colour, luminance polarity and orientation, we compared target-only conditions in which all elements were either the same or different along one of these feature dimensions. We found comparable performance in the same and different feature conditions, revealing that subitizing mechanism do not depend on ‘on-off’ luminance-polarity, colour or orientation channel interactions. We also measured the effect of varying spatial organisation of (i) context, by arranging the elements either in a grid, mirror-symmetric, translation-symmetric or random; (ii) target, by placing the elements either mirror-symmetric, on the vertices of simple shapes or random. Our results indicate higher accuracy and lower RTs in the grid compared to all other context types, with mirror symmetric, translation and random arrangements having comparable effects on target numerosity. We also found improved performance with shape-target followed by symmetric and random target arrangements in the absence and presence of context. These findings indicate that numerosity mechanisms around the subitizing range are not selective to colour, luminance polarity and orientation, and that symmetric, translation and random contexts organisations inhibit target-numerosity encoding stronger than regular/grid context.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial and chromatic properties of numerosity estimation in isolation and context

Gheorghiu

Goldschmitt

2022

PLoS ONE

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“…We note here a limitation of Equation 3; there is no term for adaptation. However, Grasso et al ( 2022 ) found that the numerosity of display of 29 colored items at constant luminance was reduced by adaptation to the same color, such that 34 items were matched to 29 items, a drop of 17%, while being uninfluenced by adaptation to a different color. Critically, color assimilation was used to separate perceived from physical color, and only the former adapted numerosity.…”

Section: Model Of Contrast Normalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untypical Contrast Normalization Explains the “Weak Outnumber Strong” Numerosity Illusion

Lei

Reeves

2022

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Less salient, lower contrast disks appear to be more numerous than more salient, higher contrast disks when intermingled in equal numbers into the same display (Lei and Reeves, 2018), but they are equal in perceived numerosity when segregated into different displays. Comparative judgements indicate that the apparent numerosity of the lower contrast disks is unaffected by being intermingled with high contrast disks, whereas the high contrast disks are reduced in numerosity by being intermingled with the low contrast ones (Lei and Reeves, 2018). Here, we report that this illusion also occurs for absolute judgements of the numerosities of displays of from 20 to 80 disks. A model based on luminance-difference contrast normalization (LDCN) explains the illusory loss of high-contrast (salient) items along with veridical perception of the low-contrast ones. The model correctly predicts that perceived numerosity is linearly related to the square-root of the number of disks, with the extent of the illusion depending on an attentionally-weighted function of contrast and assimilation.

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Visual numerosity perception shows no advantage in real-world scenes compared to artificial displays

Odic

Oppenheimer

2023

Cognition

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Numerosity perception is tuned to salient environmental features

Cited by 16 publications

References 54 publications

Spatial and chromatic properties of numerosity estimation in isolation and context

Spatial and chromatic properties of numerosity estimation in isolation and context

Untypical Contrast Normalization Explains the “Weak Outnumber Strong” Numerosity Illusion

Visual numerosity perception shows no advantage in real-world scenes compared to artificial displays

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