Figure 8. Machine faces, perceived as more figure-like(left) and less figure-like (right)-Gestalt Processing in Human-Robot Interaction: A Novel Account for Autism Research

<p>In an experimental study on visual perception, addressing directly Gestalt phenomena, a new<br> Gestalt cue for figure-ground assignment was introduced (Vechera et al., 2002). The foreground<br> versus the background organization is a strong determinant for decisions on objects seen among<br> image elements. A well-known set of perceptual cues that are often called Gestalt cues are the size<br> or area, the symmetry and the convexity vs. concavity judgments. It is generally assumed that<br> figures are &lsquo;small, symmetrical and convex&rsquo;. The authors asked the question whether these cues are<br> all that are necessary for a region of the image to be judged as a figure. The main result of this study<br> is that regions in the lower portion of a stimulus array appear more figure-like than regions in the<br> upper portion of the display.</p>