Validation of the Warrington theory of visual processing and the Visual Object and Space Perception Battery

Competing hypotheses regarding the nature of visual processing were examined using the performance of 111 healthy older persons on the Warrington and James (1990) Visual Object and Space Perception Battery (VOSP). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a two-factor model corresponding to the Warrington theory of object and space perception as discrete domains showed excellent congruence with the data, despite limitations in the VOSP space perception tests that may have resulted in underestimation of model fit. Moreover, compared to a unidimensional model of visual processing, the Warrington model demonstrated a superior fit to the data. These findings add to the bodies of evidence supporting a dissociation between object- and space-perception abilities and defining the construct validity of the VOSP battery.