Distance-dependent processing of pictures and words.

A series of 8 experiments investigated the association between pictorial and verbal representations and the psychological distance of the referent objects from the observer. The results showed that people better process pictures that represent proximal objects and words that represent distal objects than pictures that represent distal objects and words that represent proximal objects. These results were obtained with various psychological distance dimensions (spatial, temporal, and social), different tasks (classification and categorization), and different measures (speed of processing and selective attention). The authors argue that differences in the processing of pictures and words emanate from the physical similarity of pictures, but not words, to the referents. Consequently, perceptual analysis is commonly applied to pictures but not to words. Pictures thus impart a sense of closeness to the referent objects and are preferably used to represent such objects, whereas words do not convey proximity and are preferably used to represent distal objects in space, time, and social perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual grouping and visual selective attention

The present study demonstrates that incongruent distractor letters at a constant distance from a target letter produce more response competition and negative priming when they share a target's color than when they have a different color. Moreover, perceptual grouping by means of color, attenuated the effects of spatial proximity. For example, when all items were presented in the same color, near distractors produced more response competition and negative priming than far distractors (Experiment 3A). However, when near distractors were presented in a different color and far distractors were presented in the same color as the target, the response competition x distractor proximity interaction was eliminated and the proximity x negative priming interaction was reversed (Experiment 3B). A final experiment demonstrated that distractors appearing on the same object as a selected target produced comparable amounts of response competition and negative priming whether they were near or far from the target. This suggests that the inhibitory mechanisms of visual attention can be directed to perceptual groups/objects in the environment and not only to unsegmented regions of visual space.     

New Mathematical Optimization Model for Construction Site Layout

Layout of temporary construction facilities (objects) is an important activity during the planning process of construction projects. The construction area layout is a complex problem whose solution requires the use of analytical models. Existing popular models employ genetic algorithms that have proven to be useful tools in generating near optimal site layouts. This paper presents an alternative approach based on mathematical optimization that offers several important features and generates a global optimal solution. The construction area consists of an unavailable area that includes existing facilities (sites) and available area in which the objects can be located. The available area is divided into regions that are formulated using binary variables. The locations of the objects are determined by optimizing an objective function subject to a variety of physical and functional constraints. The objective function minimizes the total weighted distance between the objects and the sites as well as among the objects (if desired). The distance can be expressed as Euclidean or Manhattan distance. Constraints that ensure objects do not overlap are developed. The new approach, which considers a continuous space in locating the objects simultaneously, offers such capabilities as accommodating object adjacency constraints, facility proximity constraints, object–region constraints, flexible orientation of objects, visibility constraints, and nonrectangular objects, regions, and construction areas. Application of the model is illustrated using two examples involving single and multiple objects. The proposed model is efficient and easy to apply, and as such should be of interest to construction engineers and practitioners.     

Recognition by Humans and Pigeons of Novel Views of 3-D Objects and Their Photographs.

Humans and pigeons were trained to discriminate between 2 views of actual 3-D objects or their photographs. They were tested on novel views that were either within the closest rotational distance between the training views (interpolated) or outside of that range (extrapolated). When training views were 60° apart, pigeons, but not humans, recognized novel views of actual objects better than their pictures. Further, both species recognized interpolated views of both stimulus types better than extrapolated views, but a single distinctive geon enhanced recognition of novel views only for humans. When training views were 90° apart, pigeons recognized interpolated views better than extrapolated views with actual objects but not with photographs. Thus, pigeons may represent actual objects differently than their pictures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing of Extrafoveal Objects During Multiple-Object Naming.

In 3 experiments, the authors investigated the extent to which objects that are about to be named are processed prior to fixation. Participants named pairs or triplets of objects. One of the objects, initially seen extrafoveally (the interloper), was replaced by a different object (the target) during the saccade toward it. The interloper-target pairs were identical or unrelated objects or visually and conceptually unrelated objects with homophonous names (e.g., animal- baseball bat). The mean latencies and gaze durations for the targets were shorter in the identity and homophone conditions than in the unrelated condition. This was true when participants viewed a fixation mark until the interloper appeared and when they fixated on another object and prepared to name it while viewing the interloper. These results imply that objects that are about to be named may undergo far-reaching processing, including access to their names, prior to fixation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Going, going, gone: Localizing abrupt offsets of moving objects.

When a moving object abruptly disappears, this profoundly influences its localization by the visual system. In Experiment 1, 2 aligned objects moved across the screen, and 1 of them abruptly disappeared. Observers reported seeing the objects misaligned at the time of the offset, with the continuing object leading. Experiment 2 showed that the perceived forward displacement of the moving object depended on speed and that offsets were localized accurately. Two competing representations of position for moving objects are proposed: 1 based on a spatially extrapolated internal model, and the other based on transient signals elicited by sudden changes in the object trajectory that can correct the forward-shifted position. Experiment 3 measured forward displacements for moving objects that disappeared only for a short time or abruptly reduced contrast by various amounts. Manipulating the relative strength of the 2 position representations in this way resulted in intermediate positions being perceived, with weaker motion signals or stronger transients leading to less forward displacement. This 2-process mechanism is advantageous because it uses available information about object position to maximally reduce spatio-temporal localization errors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repetition blindness for rotated objects.

Repetition blindness (RB) is the finding that observers often miss the repetition of an item within a rapid stream of words or objects. Recent studies have shown that RB for objects is largely unaffected by variations in viewpoint between the repeated items. In 5 experiments, we tested RB under different axes of rotation, with different types of stimuli (line drawings and shaded images, intact and split), using both novel and familiar objects. Although RB was largely viewpoint invariant, in most experiments, RB was reduced for small (0°) and large (180°) viewpoint differences relative to intermediate rotations. However, these deviations from invariance were eliminated when object images were split, breaking the holistic coherence of the object. These findings suggest that RB is due mainly to the activation of object representations from local diagnostic features, but can be modulated by priming on the basis of view similarity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related binding deficits and the content of false memories.

The authors examined effects of age-related binding deficits on feature information in false memories for imagined objects (e.g., lollipop) that were similar in shape to seen objects (e.g., magnifying glass). In Experiment 1, location memory for seen objects was lower in older than younger adults and lower still in old-old than young-old adults. Imagined objects, when falsely called seen, were less likely to be attributed to the location of similar seen objects (i.e., congruent attributions) by old-old than young-old adults. In Experiment 2, for younger adults, displaying seen objects for less time (1 s vs. 4 s) reduced both location memory for seen objects and congruent attributions for false memories. Thus, binding deficits may influence the specific content of false memories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wayfinding, displacements, and mental maps: Velocity fields are not typically used to determine one's aimpoint.

When an individual moves through a cluttered environment, he or she often fixates an object relatively near his or her path in the middle distance and uses pursuit eye movements to follow it while moving forward. On the basis of previous evidence, either motion fields or displacement fields around the fixated object—two alternative representations of the same information—could be used to determine one's direction of self-movement, sometimes called heading or aimpoint. In a series of 5 experiments, the relationship between these representations was explored and it was found that the displacements of identifiable objects, not their motions, are most likely the direct inputs for wayfinding. It may be that these inputs are used in conjunction with a mental map to determine one's aimpoint. A mathematical framework for this process is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New objects dominate luminance transients in setting attentional priority.

Both the sudden appearance of an object and sudden changes in existing object features influence priority in visual search. However, direct comparisons of these influences have not been made under controlled conditions. In 5 visual search experiments, new object onsets were compared directly with changes in the luminance of old objects. Factors included the luminance contrast of items against the background, the magnitude of luminance change, and the probability that these changes were associated with the target item. New objects were consistently more effective in guiding search, such that a new item with very low luminance contrast was equivalent to an old item undergoing a large change in luminance. An important exception was an old item changing in contrast and polarity, which was as effective as the appearance of a new object. This indicates that search priority is biased toward object rather than situational changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic interference from objects both in and out of a scene context.

Prior studies have found that, despite the intentions of the participants, objects automatically activate their semantic representations; however, this research examined only objects presented in isolation without a background context. The present set of experiments examined the automaticity issue for objects presented in isolation as well as in scenes. In Experiments l and 2, words were categorized more slowly when they were embedded inside incongruent objects (e.g., the word chair in a picture of a duck) than inside neutral nonobjects, suggesting that the meanings of the objects were activated despite participants' intentions. A new interference task was introduced in Experiment 3. When the same objects and words from the first 2 experiments were inserted into scenes in which those objects were probable or improbable, interference occurred from probable pictured objects but not from improbable pictured objects. Implications for theories of automaticity and models of object identification are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From trashed to treasured: A grounded theory analysis of the found object.

Both research and applied psychologists pay surprisingly little attention to the material objects encountered in day-to-day living, even though the significance of these objects in human development has been profound. Drawing on literature from the visual arts, consumer behavior, anthropology, psychology, art therapy, and museum studies, this is the first known article to examine the psychological, social, and aesthetic factors involved in found and second-hand object use. A survey design employing a qualitative questionnaire, analyzed by grounded theory, was given to 65 people from 8 countries. Results identified a found object process that involves the interaction of aesthetic, cognitive, emotive, mnemonic, ecological, and creative factors in the seeking, discovery, and utilization of found objects. This has potential implications for the use of material objects within health care by applied psychologists and allied professionals. An initial theoretical explanation about the use of found objects is proposed to help guide further research in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The matching problem with multiple judges and objects.

Studies using the matching method with multiple judges and objects, when each object is judged by each judge, must take into account the dependence among the several observations in each set. Techniques for testing for differences between judges or differences between objects are considered. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1AE80F. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Limitations of object-based feature encoding in visual short-term memory.

The present study investigated object-based feature encoding in visual short-term memory for 2 features within the same dimension that occur on different parts of an object. Using the change-detection paradigm, this experiment studied objects with 2 colors and objects with 2 orientations. Participants found it easier to monitor 1 rather than both features of such objects, even when decision noise was properly controlled for. However, no object-based benefit was observed for encoding the 2 features of each object that were of the same dimension. When similar stimuli were used but the 2 features of each object were from different dimensions (color and orientation), an object-based benefit was observed. These results thus impose a major constraint on object-based feature encoding theories by showing that only features from different dimensions can benefit from object-based encoding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pictorial and motion-based depth information during active control of self-motion: Size-arrival effects on collision avoidance.

With computer simulations of self-motion, Ss controlled their altitude as they approached a floating object and, after getting as close as possible to the object, tried to "jump" over it without collision. Ss jumped significantly later for small objects, compared with larger objects that were approached from equal distances at equal speeds and were positioned at equal clearance heights. This occurred even when accretion-deletion information was present and when object width and length were varied independently. Results were consistent with studies (e.g., P. R. Delucia, see record 1992-00230-001) in which Ss judged a large, far-approaching object to hit the viewpoint before a small, near object that would have arrived sooner. Results suggest that pictorial information such as relative size contributes to active collision-avoidance tasks and must be considered in models of perceived distance and time-to-arrival. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immediate post-saccadic information mediates space constancy

We recently demonstrated that the perceived stability of a visual target that is displaced during a saccade critically depends on whether the target is present immediately when the saccade ends; blanking a target during and just after a saccade makes its intra-saccadic displacement more visible (Deubel et al. Vis Res 1996;36:985-996). Here, we investigate the interaction of visual context and blanking. Subjects saw a saccade target and an equal-sized distractor. During a saccade one or the other was displaced left or right. At the same time, one of the objects could be blanked briefly. Subjects reported whether the target or the distractor had jumped. The object that was blanked was more often seen as jumping (Experiment 1), regardless of which object really jumped, implying that continuously visible objects are preferentially perceived as stable. When both objects were blanked, longer blanking led to better accuracy at identifying which had jumped during a saccade. When one object was jumped and the other, stationary object was blanked (Experiment 2), the blanked object was mistakenly seen as jumping until the jump covered 50% or more of the saccade amplitude. In Experiment 3 a large continuously present texture underwent an undetected jump during a saccade, biasing judgments of simultaneous jumps of a blanked target. The results demonstrate that space constancy in normal situations is dominated by the assumption that a continuously present pattern is stable--this pattern becomes the spatial reference for the post-saccadic recalibration of perceptual space.     

Visual attention and objects: One versus two or convex versus concave?

According to object-based theories of visual attention, attention can be divided within a single object more efficiently than between separate objects (J. Duncan, 1984). Recently, G. C. Baylis and J. Driver (1993) provided a theoretical framework for interpreting this single-object advantage within the domain of spatial organization. Using their hierarchical coding of location hypothesis, they showed that the latency to compare the location of 2 vertices was significantly faster for vertices that were seen as parts of a single (convex) object than for vertices that were seen as parts of separate (concave) objects. This article reports the replication of this finding, as well as new evidence that shows that latency is affected by the convexity of the contour, and not by the number of objects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representation of depth by children: Spatial strategies and lateral biases.

Preschool and elementary-school children from the US and Israel represented depth relations in pictures. A lateral bias to place near objects on the left side appeared in English and Hebrew readers of all ages and in older Arabic readers; this bias is consistent with left–right asymmetries observed in Western art. The overall directionality of notational systems was seen as constraining, but not causing, the left bias. In all cultural groups, young children represented near–far by horizontal alignments and older children, by diagonal alignments, with virtually no vertical alignments. Front–behind representations followed a different developmental course that was interpreted as due to efforts to convey nearness between the items separated in depth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)