THE NOTION OF ELEMENTS IN THE VISUAL-FIELD IN A THEORY OF VISUAL-ATTENTION - A REPLY

Van der Velde and van der Heijden (1993) criticized the way in which the notion of elements in the visual field is used in my theory of visual attention (Bundesen, 1990) and in my reinterpretation of Nissen's (1985) findings (Bundesen, 1991). The critique is repudiated here I defend the critical assumption that perceptual units (elements in the visual field), formed on the basis of precategorical, sensory information, can be addressed by later processes before any perceptual categorizations have been made. I also point out that, despite the claims of van der Velde and van der Heijden, my reinterpretation of Nissen's findings is testable.