Researchers show participants a rectangular array of identical gray circles. The vertical gap between adjacent circles is smaller than the horizontal gap, and participants perceive columns. The researchers then leave every circle in the same location but assign colors so that all circles in each horizontal row have the same color and adjacent rows have different colors. Participants now perceive rows. Which of the following best accounts for this change?
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Answer: D (Grouping by similarity overrode grouping by proximity.)
The shorter vertical gaps initially promote grouping by proximity, causing the circles to be perceived as columns. When the locations remain unchanged but circles within each horizontal row are assigned the same color, the shift to perceiving rows indicates that grouping by color similarity has overridden grouping by proximity. Figure-ground organization concerns the separation of an object from its background, not grouping the circles into rows or columns. Sensory adaptation would require prolonged stimulation and would not specifically explain the effect of the color arrangement. Binocular disparity is a depth cue based on differences between the two retinal images and is not produced by assigning colors to a flat display. Therefore, grouping by similarity overrode grouping by proximity.