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Abstract:
Most models of object recognition assume that object recognition is based on the matching of the 2-D view of the object with representations of the object stored in memory. They propose that a time-consuming normalisation process compensates for any difference in viewpoint between the 2-D percept and the stored representation. Our experiment shows that this normalisation is less time-consuming when it has to compensate for disorientations around the vertical than around the horizontal axis of rotation. By decoupling the different possible reference frames, we demonstrate that this anisotropy of the recognition performance is not defined with respect to the retinal, but with respect to the gravitational or the visuo-contextual frame of reference. Our results suggest that the visual system may call upon both the gravitational vertical and the visual context to serve as the frame of reference with respect to which objects are gauged in 3-D object recognition.
