Is it in the eyes? The relationship between the global superiority effect and eye-movement patterns
Sarah James
Swansea University
Recently, Macrae and Lewis (2002) found that
memory of an attacker seen during a robbery improved following a global Navon
letter identification task but worsened following a local Navon letter
identification task. These findings suggest that processing orientation (local
vs. global letter identification) can influence face recognition. The current
study examined whether local and global processing orientation influences
memory by influencing the pattern of eye-movements during viewing. Participants
viewed a ‘mugging-at-knifepoint’ scene and were later asked to recall as many
details as possible. Local or global processing was previously manipulated as
in Macrae and Lewis. During viewing eye-movements were recorded at different
regions of interest. Eye-movement patterns and memory recall were examined as a
function of the processing orientation participants were previously engaged in.
Their findings were contrasted against a control group (no prior letter
identification). The findings are discussed in relation to models of scene
recognition and attention.
