A continuum of dimensional separability

Recent studies of children’s perception may be interpreted in terms of a developmental continuum from integrality to separability in the perception of multidimensional variation. Two experiments examined the existence of such a continuum in adult perception. The first experiment indicated that there are dimensional combinations that are neither clearly integral nor separable for adults. Rather, such a combination results in performance patterns intermediate between those found with integral and separable dimensions. The second experiment tested one conceptualization of a continuum of dimensional separability in a speeded classification task. By this conceptualization, the perceived structures of multidimensional variation are orderable by thedegree to which the component dimensions are differentiated. Consistent with this view, performances with three-dimensional combinations are shown to be differentially dependent on dimensional and wholistic relations. The importance of the joint consideration of developmental and adult issues in the perception of multidimensional variation is briefly discussed.