Editing Perception (section)

=== Feature integration theory ===
{{Main|Feature integration theory}}
[[Anne Treisman]]'s feature integration theory (FIT) attempts to explain how characteristics of a stimulus such as physical location in space, motion, color, and shape are merged to form one percept despite each of these characteristics activating separate areas of the cortex. FIT explains this through a two part system of perception involving the preattentive and focused attention stages.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Goldstein |first=E. Bruce |title=Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 4th Edition |publisher=[[Cengage Learning]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-285-76388-0 |location=Stamford, CT |pages=109–112}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Treisman |first1=Anne |last2=Gelade |first2=Garry |date=1980 |title=A Feature-Integration Theory of Attention |url=http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/class/Psy355/Gilden/treisman.pdf |journal=Cognitive Psychology |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=97–136 |doi=10.1016/0010-0285(80)90005-5 |pmid=7351125 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905025042/http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/class/Psy355/Gilden/treisman.pdf |archive-date=5 September 2008 |via=[[Science Direct]] |s2cid=353246}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Goldstein|first=E. Bruce|title=Sensation and Perception|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2010|isbn=978-0-495-60149-4|location=Belmont, CA|pages=144–146|edition=8th}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Treisman|first1=Anne|last2=Schmidt|first2=Hilary|date=1982|title=Illusory Conjunctions in the Perception of Objects|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0010028582900068|journal=Cognitive Psychology|volume=14|issue=1|pages=107–141|doi=10.1016/0010-0285(82)90006-8|pmid=7053925|s2cid=11201516|via=Science Direct|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Treisman|first=Anne|date=1977|title=Focused Attention in The Perception and Retrieval of Multidimensional Stimuli|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0010028582900068|journal=Cognitive Psychology|volume=14|issue=1|pages=107–141|doi=10.1016/0010-0285(82)90006-8|pmid=7053925|s2cid=11201516|via=Science Direct|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The preattentive stage of perception is largely unconscious, and analyzes an object by breaking it down into its basic features, such as the specific color, geometric shape, motion, depth, individual lines, and many others.<ref name=":0" /> Studies have shown that, when small groups of objects with different features (e.g., red triangle, blue circle) are briefly flashed in front of human participants, many individuals later report seeing shapes made up of the combined features of two different stimuli, thereby referred to as [[illusory conjunctions]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

The unconnected features described in the preattentive stage are combined into the objects one normally sees during the focused attention stage.<ref name=":0" /> The focused attention stage is based heavily around the idea of attention in perception and 'binds' the features together onto specific objects at specific spatial locations (see the [[binding problem]]).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />