The processing of mental structures in perception appears to be serial, in that viewers can fill in missing parts from an impoverished stimulus following a top down process. To investigate the effects of unfamiliarity, complexity, and legibility on object and layout perception of unfamiliar stimuli, ten subjects were shown one of four ribbon objects, containing 2-14 panels representing different levels of legibility (skewed, nonskewed junctions; low or high occluding junctions). The eye movements of six subjects were also recorded as they viewed the ribbon objects. An analysis of the results showed the perceptual schemata were comprised of "chunks" of information and that eye fixation represented such a chunk. The physical size of the chunk, in degrees of visual angle, varied according to the distribution of stimulus information and the availability of processing resources. (Drawings of the ribbon objects and data analyses are appended). (BL)