Mental representations of objects : holistic vs. featural hypotheses : [an honors thesis (HONRS 499)]

Abstract

This experiment investigated mental representations of objects. Holistic and featural hypotheses' ability to explain results in an experiment similar to many real world tasks was examined. Stimuli were 2-dimensional line drawings representing 3-dimensional objects. Four different objects were paired with 200 rotations of themselves (around the vertical axis) or with distractors. Some of the 200 rotations resulted in paired figures which shared many similar features while other 20° rotations resulted in paired figures which shared only a few similar features. For each trial, subjects were asked to determine if the two stimuli presented could be different views of the same 3-dimensional object. Percent correct and reaction times were analyzed. Data provided general support for the holistic hypothesis, although an alternate explanation for the results was discussed.