Perceptual semantics: A three-level approach

In this work we suggest a model according to which semantics has been already generated during the perception through the interaction of three dynamic levels of perceptual organization. We consider perceptual grouping as the first order processing. Shape formation is considered as the second order processing. Both grouping and shape formation can be considered as two complementary and interrelated processes of perceptual organization. The third — partially overlapping — level is meaning assignment. Most of the results are supported by empirical evidence based on new visual illusions of shape and meaning and are consistent with several other proposals (e.g., [1], [2] and [3]).