Journal article
Divided attention limits perception of 3-D object shapes
Journal of vision (Charlottesville, Va.), Vol.13(2), pp.18-18
02/12/2013
DOI: 10.1167/13.2.18
PMCID: PMC5833208
PMID: 23404158
Abstract
Can one perceive multiple object shapes at once? We tested two benchmark models of object shape perception under divided attention: an unlimited-capacity and a fixed-capacity model. Under unlimited-capacity models, shapes are analyzed independently and in parallel. Under fixed-capacity models, shapes are processed at a fixed rate (as in a serial model). To distinguish these models, we compared conditions in which observers were presented with simultaneous or sequential presentations of a fixed number of objects (The extended simultaneous-sequential method: Scharff, Palmer, & Moore, 2011a, 2011b). We used novel physical objects as stimuli, minimizing the role of semantic categorization in the task. Observers searched for a specific object among similar objects. We ensured that non-shape stimulus properties such as color and texture could not be used to complete the task. Unpredictable viewing angles were used to preclude image-matching strategies. The results rejected unlimited-capacity models for object shape perception and were consistent with the predictions of a fixed-capacity model. In contrast, a task that required observers to recognize 2-D shapes with predictable viewing angles yielded an unlimited capacity result. Further experiments ruled out alternative explanations for the capacity limit, leading us to conclude that there is a fixed-capacity limit on the ability to perceive 3-D object shapes.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Divided attention limits perception of 3-D object shapes
- Creators
- Alec Scharff - Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. scharff@uw.eduJohn PalmerCathleen M Moore
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of vision (Charlottesville, Va.), Vol.13(2), pp.18-18
- DOI
- 10.1167/13.2.18
- PMID
- 23404158
- PMCID
- PMC5833208
- NLM abbreviation
- J Vis
- ISSN
- 1534-7362
- eISSN
- 1534-7362
- Publisher
- United States
- Grant note
- R01 MH067793 / NIMH NIH HHS
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/12/2013
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Injury Prevention Research Center
- Record Identifier
- 9984002341502771
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