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Flexibility of emerging face categorization at different levels of abstraction

Categorization of visual stimuli at different levels of abstraction relies on the encoding of relevant diagnostic features present at different spatial scales. We used the Eidolon Factory, an image-manipulation algorithm that introduces random disarray fields across spatial scales, to study how such...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Santo, Miguel Granja Espírito, Wagemans, Johan
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8142708/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34010952
http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/jov.21.5.22
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author Santo, Miguel Granja Espírito
Wagemans, Johan
author_facet Santo, Miguel Granja Espírito
Wagemans, Johan
author_sort Santo, Miguel Granja Espírito
collection PubMed
description Categorization of visual stimuli at different levels of abstraction relies on the encoding of relevant diagnostic features present at different spatial scales. We used the Eidolon Factory, an image-manipulation algorithm that introduces random disarray fields across spatial scales, to study how such a process flexibly combines perceptual information to perform successful categorization depending on task demands. Images of animal faces, human faces, and everyday objects were disarrayed coherently (random fields correlated) or incoherently (random fields randomized) to create a family of 50 eidolons per stimulus image with increasing disarray. Participants (N = 243) viewed each family of eidolons in a smooth sequence from maximum disarray to no disarray and performed a category verification task either at the superordinate (any face type) or basic (human face only) levels at two levels of uncertainty: participants in one group used their gut feeling to respond, whereas another group had to be sure of their decision. When participants used their gut feeling to respond, we observed a superordinate-level advantage. When they were sure of their response, we observed a basic-level advantage. Coherently disarrayed sequences impaired target detection compared to incoherently disarrayed sequences for both levels of response certainty. Furthermore, participants’ sensitivity in the Any Face condition increased when they observed coherently disarrayed sequences and had to be sure of their response. These results suggest that the visual system does not strictly adhere to feedforward processing but flexibly adjusts to the relevant perceptual information depending on task context.
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spelling pubmed-81427082021-05-27 Flexibility of emerging face categorization at different levels of abstraction Santo, Miguel Granja Espírito Wagemans, Johan J Vis Article Categorization of visual stimuli at different levels of abstraction relies on the encoding of relevant diagnostic features present at different spatial scales. We used the Eidolon Factory, an image-manipulation algorithm that introduces random disarray fields across spatial scales, to study how such a process flexibly combines perceptual information to perform successful categorization depending on task demands. Images of animal faces, human faces, and everyday objects were disarrayed coherently (random fields correlated) or incoherently (random fields randomized) to create a family of 50 eidolons per stimulus image with increasing disarray. Participants (N = 243) viewed each family of eidolons in a smooth sequence from maximum disarray to no disarray and performed a category verification task either at the superordinate (any face type) or basic (human face only) levels at two levels of uncertainty: participants in one group used their gut feeling to respond, whereas another group had to be sure of their decision. When participants used their gut feeling to respond, we observed a superordinate-level advantage. When they were sure of their response, we observed a basic-level advantage. Coherently disarrayed sequences impaired target detection compared to incoherently disarrayed sequences for both levels of response certainty. Furthermore, participants’ sensitivity in the Any Face condition increased when they observed coherently disarrayed sequences and had to be sure of their response. These results suggest that the visual system does not strictly adhere to feedforward processing but flexibly adjusts to the relevant perceptual information depending on task context. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2021-05-19 /pmc/articles/PMC8142708/ /pubmed/34010952 http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/jov.21.5.22 Text en Copyright 2021 The Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
spellingShingle Article
Santo, Miguel Granja Espírito
Wagemans, Johan
Flexibility of emerging face categorization at different levels of abstraction
title Flexibility of emerging face categorization at different levels of abstraction
title_full Flexibility of emerging face categorization at different levels of abstraction
title_fullStr Flexibility of emerging face categorization at different levels of abstraction
title_full_unstemmed Flexibility of emerging face categorization at different levels of abstraction
title_short Flexibility of emerging face categorization at different levels of abstraction
title_sort flexibility of emerging face categorization at different levels of abstraction
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8142708/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34010952
http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/jov.21.5.22
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