Visual search strategy and perceptual organization covary with individual preference and structural complexity

The pattern of interactions between visual search profile (serial versus nonserial) and perceptual organization type (functionally local versus global) was investigated in three experiments. The task was a matching judgment performed on two separate figures that fit in a jigsaw-puzzle fashion. Reaction times and errors showed that serial search preferably goes together with local organization and nonserial search with global organization. Choice of search profile and organization type depend on task and individual preference. Structural complexity in the target area reinforces the combination of local organization and serial search. This combination was also chosen by subjects preferring accuracy. The combination of global organization and nonserial search was chosen with simpler targets or by subjects preferring speed. The results support an interactive notion of perceptual organization and search. Perceptual organization type is determined by individual preferences in combination with visual search task demands; visual search is guided by the specific organization of the stimulus pattern.