How do the internal details of the object contribute to recognition?

Full Abstract

Object recognition becomes difficult when the main axis of the object is foreshortened. It has previously been reported that this so-called foreshortened disadvantage is larger when the silhouette of the object is presented than when the line drawing of the object is presented. The pronounced foreshortened disadvantage in silhouette recognition indicates that the internal details of the object, which are absent in the silhouette, provide useful information, particularly when the main axis is foreshortened. But the role of these internal details remains controversial. One account for the pronounced disadvantage is that the internal details contribute to the derivation of the main axis. The other account is that internal details provide the distinctive features that are directly matched to the object represented in memory. The aim in the present study was to determine which of these two explanations best accounts for the differential foreshortened disadvantage between line drawings and silhouettes. To reduce the uncertainty regarding the axis orientation, a 3-D arrow indicating the orientation of the main axis was presented as a cue before the object itself was presented. As a result, the difference in the foreshortened disadvantage between silhouettes and line drawings disappeared. This indicated that the pronounced foreshortened disadvantage for silhouettes was caused by a lack of axis information. In other words, the internal details provided the information necessary for axis derivation when the axis was foreshortened.

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Author information

Author/s: Mitsumatsu, Hidemichi (H); Yokosawa, Kazuhiko (K);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. h-mits(-atsign-)nifty.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Perception (Perception), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-; vol 31 (issue 11) : pp 1289-98

Dates: Created 2002/12/19; Completed 2003/02/06; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12489766, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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