The processing of hierarchical visual stimuli and related functional hemispheric differences

In this project we investigate the processing of the global and local levels of hierarchical visual stimuli and related functional hemispheric differences. It has often, but not always, been observed that the right hemisphere is better at processing global information, whereas the left hemisphere has an advantage with respect to local information. A crucial question concern the origin of this asymmetry.

Examples of hierarchical stimuli

The Integration Theory of hierarchical processing

A key finding is that asymmetries occur mainly when there is a response conflict between the levels. Based on this result, we developed an integration theory of global/local processing (Hübner & Volberg, 2005). It assumes that at early stages of processing the identities of global and local units of a hierarchical stimulus are represented separately from information about their respective level. Therefore, identity and level information have to be integrated at later stages. The theory further states that the cerebral hemispheres differ in their capacity for theses integration/binding processes.

Funding

The project was funded by several grants from the German Science Foundation (DFG)

Publications

Hübner, R. (2014). Does attentional selectivity in global/local processing improve discretely or gradually? Frontiers in Psychology, 5. <doi>

Martens, U. & Hübner, R. (2013). Functional hemispheric asymmetries of global/local processing mirrored by the steady-state visual evoked potential. Brain and Cognition, 81, 161-166. <pdf>

Kruse, R. & Hübner, R. (2012). The cerebral hemispheres differ in their capacity for content-to-level binding but not for identification: Evidence from conjunction errors obtained with bilateral hierarchical stimuli. Laterality, 17, 615-628. <pdf>

Hübner, R. & Kruse, R. (2011). Effects of stimulus type and level repetition on content-level binding in global/local processing. Frontiers in Psychology, 2. <doi>.

Hübner, R. & Studer, T. (2009).Functional hemispheric differences for the categorization of global and local information in naturalistic stimuli. Brain and Cognition, 69, 11-18. <pdf>

Schlösser, J., Hübner, R., & Studer, T. (2009). The effect of element spacing on hemispheric asymmetries for global/local processing. Experimental Psychology, 56, 321-328. <pdf>

Studer, T. & Hübner, R. (2008). The direction of hemispheric asymmetries for object categorization at different levels of abstraction depends on the task. Brain and Cognition, 67, 197-211. <pdf>

Hübner, R., Volberg, G., & Studer, T. (2007). Hemispheric differences for global/local processing in divided attention tasks: Further evidence for the integration theory. Perception & Psychophysics, 69, 413-421. <pdf>

Volberg, G., & Hübner, R. (2007). Deconfounding the effects of congruency and task difficulty on hemispheric differences in global/local processing. Experimental Psychology, 54, 83-88. <pdf>

Volberg, G., & Hübner, R. (2007). Do the hemispheres differ in their preparation for global/local processing? Experimental Brain Research, 176, 525-531. <pdf>

Volberg, G., & Hübner, R. (2006). Hemispheric differences for the integration of stimulus levels and their contents: Evidence from bilateral presentations. Perception & Psychophysics, 68, 1274–1285. <pdf>

Hübner, R., & Volberg, G. (2005). The integration of object levels and their content: A theory of global/local processing and related hemispheric differences. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 31, 520-541. <pdf>

Volberg, G., & Hübner, R. (2004). On the role of response conflicts and stimulus position for hemispheric differences in global/local processing: An ERP study. Neuropsychologia, 42, 1805-1813. <pdf>

Hübner, R. & Malinowski, P., (2002). The effect of response competition on functional hemispheric asymmetries for global/local processing. Perception & Psychophysics, 64, 1290-1300. <pdf>

Malinowski, P., Hübner, R., Keil, A., & Gruber, T. (2002). The influence of response competition on cerebral asymmetries for processing hierarchical stimuli revealed by ERP recordings. Experimental Brain Research,144, 136-139. <pdf>

Hübner, R. (2000). Attention shifting between global and local target levels: The persistence of level-repetition effects. Visual Cognition, 7, 456-484.

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Hübner, R. (1998). Hemispheric differences in local-global processing revealed by same-different judgments. Visual Cognition, 5, 457-478. <pdf>

Hübner, R. (1997). The effect of spatial frequency on global precedence and hemispheric differences. Perception & Psychophysics, 59, 187-201. <pdf>