Detection of one-, two-, and three-dimensional Markov constraints in visual displays II: Multistate displays.

The study of the depth of visual information processing is here extended to multistate displays. Two classes of variables are distinguished: display variables which may either be fixed at a single level or varied over its possible levels, e.g., a numeric character, its brightness, and its orientation; and spatial-temporal variables which assume all possible states within each display, e.g., the x- and y-coordinates of the display, and the time-coordinate, t, representing successive frames of the display. Information was encoded in terms of constraints upon combinations of variables. Excellent discrimination is achieved for detecting constraints among two, but not three, display variables; or for detecting constraints among one, but not two, display variables and up to three spatial-temporal variables. Comparisons are made with previous tests of the depth of visual information processing with binary-coded materials within the spatial-temporal microstructure of the display.