Humans routinely make inductive generalizations about unobserved features of objects. Previous accounts of inductive reasoning often focus on inferences about a single object or feature: accounts of causal reasoning often focus on a single object with one or more unobserved features, and accounts of property induction often focus on a single…

How does the brain learn to recognize an object from multiple viewpoints while scanning a scene with eye movements? How does the brain avoid the problem of erroneously classifying parts of different objects together? How are attention and eye movements intelligently coordinated to facilitate object learning? A neural model provides a unified…

A new grouping principle, which depends on perceived depth relations and follows a hierarchical embedding scheme, states that elements located within a common region of space will be perceived as grouped together. Common region produces clear powerful grouping effects, yet cannot be reduced to any other known grouping factor. (RLC)

In five experiments, 14- to 15-month-old infants' categorization of objects on the basis of more or less obvious features was investigated. Using an object examining paradigm, a total of 200 infants were familiarized with novel objects that shared either more obvious features (i.e., easily visible) or less obvious features (i.e., accessible by…

Six experiments with 145 adult student subjects were performed to determine whether texture segregation and grouping by similarity are perceived under conditions of inattention. Results establish that neither is accomplished under conditions of inattention, indicating that there is an earlier stage of processing than that called preattentive. (SLD)

This article reviews the history, the use and the reasons for abandonment of the selective adaptation paradigm. The four experiments mentioned in the article show that selective adaptation produces strong reaction time effects, and that items in the adapted category are identified more slowly than unadapted items. (JAZ)

It is proposed that there is a modular but interconnected system underlying the perceived hierarchical organization of objects. The discussion centers on neural and cognitive mechanisms of organizing objects within objects in at least four separate subsystems. (SLD)

Presents 7 experiments with 118 undergraduates tracking multiple randomly moving visual elements under various conditions. Observers spontaneously grouped the target elements and directed attention toward this coherent nonrigid virtual object. Results support object-based theories of attention and show that perceptual grouping, a purely…

Theoretical and empirical issues relating to haptic exploration and the representation of common objects during haptic classification were investigated in 3 experiments involving a total of 112 college students. Results are discussed in terms of a computational model of human haptic object classification with implications for dextrous robot…

Two studies involving 195 undergraduates investigated memory errors occurring when the context standard used in judging target behaviors differs from the category norm standard available when behaviors are recalled. Results support a "natural" tendency to use the current categorical meaning of a judgment to reconstruct the referent of…

Two experiments involving 49 3- and 47 4-year-old French preschoolers studied their memories for racial and other social information to test claim that perceptual factors are integral to derivation and representation of racial categories. Results cast doubt on claim that perceptual information is crucial component of racial categories and are more…

The current research investigates infants' perception of a novel object from a category that is familiar to young infants: key rings. We ask whether experiences obtained outside the lab would allow young infants to parse the visible portions of a partly occluded key ring display into one single unit, presumably as a result of having categorized it…