Object naming induces reliance on orientation-independent representations during longer-term, but not short-term, visual remembering

Abstract

Naming novel objects with novel count nouns changes how the objects are drawn from memory, revealing that object categorisation induces reliance on orientation-independent visual representations during longer-term remembering, but not during short-term remembering. Serial position effects integrate this finding with a more established conceptualisation of short-term and longer-term visual remembering in which the former is identified as keeping an item in mind. Adults were shown a series of four novel objects in orientations in which they would not normally be drawn from memory. When not named ("Look at this object"), the objects were drawn in the orientations in which they had been seen. When named with a novel count noun (e.g., "Look at this dax"), the final object continued to be depicted in the orientation in which it had been seen, but all other objects were depicted in an unseen but preferred (canonical) orientation, even though participants could still remember the orientations in which they had been seen. Although orientation-dependent exemplar representations appear to be more accessible than orientation-independent generic representations during short-term remembering, the reverse is the case during longer-term remembering. How the theoretical framework emerging from these observations accommodates a broader body of evidence is discussed.

Object specificity and personal relevance in long-term visual remembering

“…Finally, the present results resonate with those from other studies in which drawing has been used to identify the circumstances under which generic and object-specific episodic information are preferentially retrieved from visual memory (Walker, Blake, & Bremner, 2008;Walker, Bremner, Smart, Pitt, & Apsey, 2008;Walker, Kennedy, & Berridge, 2011). In these studies, in which participants had to draw a small number of objects from recent memory, Walker and his colleagues gave themselves the opportunity to manipulate the availability of generic visual information (i.e., information about object categories) by using objects that were novel.…”

“…Evidence supporting this proposal was obtained from a condition in which participants were asked to draw named objects specifically in the orientations in which they had been seen. Despite the bias towards prototypical orientations that would normally be in evidence, participants were able to draw the objects in the orientations in which they had seen them (Walker et al, 2011).…”

Grasp representations depend on knowledge and attention.

“…For example, a horizontal spray can, in accordance with its perceived orientation, would afford a closed grasp with the palm facing downward. We will demonstrate, however, that under suitable task conditions novel objects, can also elicit grasp representations based on their canonical orientation, regardless of an object’s perceived orientation (e.g., Walker, Kennedy, & Berridge, 2011). The depicted and canonical representations of a novel object may coexist simultaneously and indeed, we will find that task demands can induce observers, at the point of recall, to emphasize one or the other type of representation (Marsolek, 1999; Walker et al, 2011).…”

“…From the perspective of the motor system, we can think of the object (presented first as a prime and then a short time later as the target in a match-to-sample task) as undergoing a spatial transformation from a rotated to an upright orientation. Paraphrasing an argument by Walker et al (2011), the usefulness of a grasp posture that conforms to the perceived orientation of the object depends on there being nothing to suggest that its orientation will change relative to the observer. Absent such a constraint, there is less value in maintaining a high level of access to the motor codes induced by the object’s depicted view.…”

“…There is good evidence that novel count nouns (individuated objects that can be counted) assigned to novel objects can generate orientation-independent visual representations that exist together with representation of their depicted forms, and both can be accessed during recall (Walker et al, 2011). Canonical and depicted forms of a rotated object, if concurrently active in working memory, would generate competing motor representations.…”