Cite as:
Mecheri S, Gillet E, Thouvarecq R, Leroy D, 2011, "Spatial occlusion paradigm and occluding techniques: About incongruity" Perception 40 ECVP Abstract Supplement, page 113

Spatial occlusion paradigm and occluding techniques: About incongruity

S Mecheri, E Gillet, R Thouvarecq, D Leroy

In an effort to identify the specific visual cues guiding performers in interceptive tasks, many studies used the spatial occlusion paradigm. The spatial occlusion technique involves filming the appropriate display from the viewer’s perspective and selectively occluding cue sources classically with an opaque patch and recently by erasing cues. The task for the participants is to predict the outcome of the presentation. Because perception of incongruity indicates a violation of expectations (Bruner and Postman, 1949 Journal of Personality 18 206–223), to see a sportsman whose a body segment is missing may promote the experimental scene as incongruent. The present study thus assessed the impact of the new occlusion form on visual search. The experiment combined eye movement recording with two types of spatial occlusion (removal vs masking, applied on the head of a server) in a tennis serve-return task. The results showed that the participants used a search strategy involving significantly more fixations (3.51 vs 3.23) of shorter duration (296 vs 339 ms) in the removal condition compared with the masking condition. The perceived context of the removal scene prevented the unambiguous encoding of scene information and led to additional fixations to create a coherent perception of the display.

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