A large rectangle delays the perception of a separate small rectangle

Deciding whether two objects, rather than one, are present takes longer for large-small and small-large pairs of rectangles than for large-large and small-small pairs of rectangles. This large-small slowdown was eliminated when the large rectangle was slightly modified, when the large and small rectangles were contiguous, or when the task was to identify the large rectangle. However, it did occur when the task was to identify the small rectangle. These results suggest that the large rectangle delayed the perception of the small rectangle. Codes for features did not cause this delay. Instead, the evidence indicates that each rectangle evoked its own superordinate code, and that the large-rectangle superordinate code produced the gestalt of a large rectangle and also inhibited the small-rectangle superordinate code, thereby delaying the perception of the gestalt of a small rectangle. Thus, superordinate codes may also be the direct cause of other gestalts and their associated perceptual outcomes.