Abstract
Influence of symmetry and curvilinearity on the processing of closed stimuli. Processing of featur es as color or line orientation can be carried out with speed and accuracy, and apparently without focused attention. There is controversy about whether closure can be processed with similar efficiency. In this study, we investigated processing of closed stimuli and the influence on that processing, of featur es of symmetry and curvilinearity. In an experiment of texture seg regation and two experiments of visual search, participants had to discriminate the closed from the open shapes, while the form of stimuli varied during the experiments. Performance was quite efficient when closed stimuli were also symmetrical and curvilinear, but it got worse w hen they lacked those properties. These results suggest that closure is not processed by itself, in an efficient way, but some closed shapes can be discriminated with speed and accuracy, while other closed shapes can not.
