Scene hierarchy structures mental object representations while flexibly adapting to varying task demands
Year: 2022
Type: preprint
Abstract: Like words in sentences, objects in our environment do not appear randomly, but follow a hierarchically organized structure. Objects can be part of a scene and, within a scene, are grouped into different spatial clusters, where they serve different functions. Is this organization reflected in mental representations of individual objects, and which behavioural goal does it support? We collected pairwise similarity judgments for objects: 1) based on visual appearance; 2) without explicit instructions; and 3) based on actions. Results showed modulations of mental representations as a function of hierarchy, which were enhanced by the “actions” task, while in the “visual appearance” task visual similarity played a primary role. Crucially, without explicit instructions, judgements were almost identical to the “actions” task. We therefore propose that scene hierarchy seems to organize mental representations of objects and can be flexibly adapted to changing behavioural goals by supporting efficient interactions with objects.
Authors: Jacopo Turini Volonghi, Melissa L.-H. Vo
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4411695183