'''Visual Indexingindexing Theorytheory''', (also calledknown [[Visualas Indexing Theory|'''FINST theory]])''', is an account of early [[visual perception]] developed by [[Zenon Pylyshyn]] in the 1980s. It proposes a [[Pre-attentive processing|pre-attentive]] mechanism (a ‘FINST’) whose function is to individuate salient elements of a visual scene, and track their locations across space and time. Developed in response to what Pylyshyn viewed as limitations of prominent theories of visual perception at the time, visual indexing theory is supported by several lines of empirical evidence.
[[Pre-attentive processing|pre-attentive]] mechanism (a ‘FINST’) whose function is to individuate salient elements of a visual scene, and track their locations across space and time. Developed in response to what Pylyshyn viewed as limitations of prominent theories of visual perception at the time, '''visual indexing theory''' is supported by several lines of empirical evidence.
== Overview ==
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* '''Opaque''' to the features of the objects they index. FINSTs reference objects according to their ___location only. No additional information about their referents is conveyed via the FINST mechanism itself.
=== FINSTs' roleRole in the visual perception process ===
