Seeing the Forest or the Trees

"Every second, our visual system is busy piecing together fragments of light, color, and edges to create a world that makes sense. Psychologists call this ability to take scattered details and see a meaningful whole perceptual organization. Some of us are naturally tuned to spot the "big picture" first (global processing), while others notice the finer points and textures before anything else (local processing). Both are part of healthy perception, but the balance between them varies from person to person."

"Autistic writers have offered some of the most vivid descriptions of what this difference feels like from the inside. For example, Donna Williams, in Nobody Nowhere, recalled nights when she became transfixed by tiny particles of dust, describing them as stars enclosing her bed while the rest of the world faded away. Naoki Higashida, in The Reason I Jump, explained that details jump out first for him, with the bigger picture only gradually emerging."

"Psychologists have tried to capture these experiences with theories. One is called weak central coherence, which suggests a natural tendency in autism to focus more on detail and less on context. Another, enhanced perceptual functioning, argues that autistic individuals do not necessarily lack global perception, but instead show unusually strong sensitivity to detail. Both frameworks explain parts of the story, but not all of it."

The visual system continuously pieces together light, color, and edges to form coherent perceptions. Some people naturally prioritize global processing, spotting the big picture first, while others attend to local details and textures before the whole emerges. Autistic individuals often describe intense detail-first experiences that can overwhelm everyday life, such as fixation on small particles or details emerging before larger context. Theories include weak central coherence, which posits a bias toward detail over context, and enhanced perceptual functioning, which proposes heightened sensitivity to detail alongside intact global perception. Empirical findings are mixed, with outcomes influenced by task design, instructions, and contextual factors.

Read at Psychology Today