title: Subjectively interpreted shape dimensions as privileged and orthogonal axes in mental shape space.
abstract: The shape of an object is fundamental in object recognition but it is still an open issue to what extent shape differences are perceived analytically (i.e., by the dimensional structure of the shapes) or holistically (i.e., by the overall similarity of the shapes). The dimensional structure of a stimulus is available in a primary stage of processing for separable dimensions, although it can also be derived cognitively from a perceived stimulus consisting of integral dimensions. Contrary to most experimental paradigms, the present study asked participants explicitly to analyze shapes according to two dimensions. The dimensions of interest were aspect ratio and medial axis curvature, and a new procedure was used to measure the participants' interpretation of both dimensions (Part I, Experiment 1). The subjectively interpreted shape dimensions showed specific characteristics supporting the conclusion that they also constitute perceptual dimensions with objective behavioral characteristics (Part II): (1) the dimensions did not correlate in overall similarity measures (Experiment 2), (2) they were more separable in a speeded categorization task (Experiment 3), and (3) they were invariant across different complex 2-D shapes (Experiment 4). The implications of these findings for shape-based object processing are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102 bus 3711, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ons
authors.forename: Wouter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: De Baene
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wagemans
mesh_terms: D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis