Abstract: Negative priming for the global and local features was examined in an experiment with standard prime probe method. The Arabic numerals consisting of small numerals were used as stimuli with global local hierarchy. College students were tested. Their task was to name the target numeral (global or local) they attended to. In one compound numeral condition, an Arabic numeral was displayed in the prime and the probe and the global or local feature were served as the target. The ignored feature of the prime was repeated in the probe as the target and had been transmitted to that level in the hierarchy as the target of the prime. Negative priming appeared only when the participants attended to the global feature; and no negative priming was found when they attended to the local feature. In two compound numeral conditions, two Arabic numerals were displayed in the prime and the probe, one as the target and the other as the distractor. The ignored prime distractor was repeated in the probe as the target. Negative priming appeared not only when the participants attended to the global feature but also when they attended to the local one. The results implied that negative priming effect under global local paradigm had hierarchical organization as object perception and that within object and between object selection had different effects on negative priming.

Key words: attention, negative priming, object, global feature, local feature