Class similarity and viewpoint invariance in the recognition of 3D objects (Q1346060)

In human vision, the processes and the representations involved in identifying specific individuals are frequently assumed to be different from those used for basic level classification, because classification is largely viewpoint-invariant, but identification is not. This assumption was tested in psychophysical experiments, in which objective similarity between stimuli (and, consequently, the level of their distinction) varied in a controlled fashion. Subjects were trained to discriminate between two classes of computer-generated three-dimensional objects, one resembling monkeys and the other dogs. Both classes were defined by the same set of 56 parameters, which encoded sizes, shapes, and placement of the limbs, ears, snout, etc. The results suggest that a geon-level difference between stimuli is neither strictly necessary nor always sufficient for viewpoint-invariant performance. Thus, basic and subordinate-level processes in visual recognition may be more closely related than previously thought.