The role of perceived material in associative recognition of familiar and unfamiliar objects

Date

2025-2

Author

Özdemir, Öykü Göze

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Previous research suggests that object features such as color or shape enhance memory processes, but none of them specifically focus on the material of objects, which is a crucial feature. This thesis seeks to understand how object features such as shape, material, surface texture, and reflectance influence the encoding and retrieval of objects in associative memory. Associative memory refers to how associations are formed across items either strategically, semantically, or perceptually. Specifically, I used a recognition task to understand the nature of associations formed when perceiving familiar and unfamiliar objects with congruent and incongruent materials. The stimuli in Experiment 1 contained three-dimensional (3D) model images of four familiar objects (jug, water glass, goblet, mug) rendered with four materials (wood, metal, glass, stone). The stimuli in Experiment 2 contained images of unfamiliar 3D models rendered with the same material categories as in Experiment 1. The stimuli in Experiment 3 contained images of one unfamiliar object rendered with seven texture categories (wood, metal, glass, stone, copper, plastic, and jelly) and two surface reflectance categories (matte, glossy). The findings revealed that recognition sensitivity (d’) was higher for material, shape, and reflectance congruent conditions than incongruent ones. There was no significant difference between material congruency and shape congruency as a memory facilitator in Experiment 1. On the other hand, for unfamiliar objects, the material feature was significantly better remembered than the shape and reflectance features. These findings shed light on the crucial role of the object material, complementing shape and reflectance, in associative recognition.

Subject Keywords

Material perception, Associative recognition, Object perception, Object memory

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/113438

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis