TY - JOUR
T1 - Material constancy in perception and working memory
AU - Tsuda, Hiroyuki
AU - Fujimichi, Munendo
AU - Yokoyama, Mikuho
AU - Saiki, Jun
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Yuki Takeda for coding support. Supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP18H05006 and JP20H00107.
PY - 2020/10
Y1 - 2020/10
N2 - A key challenge for the visual system entails the extraction of constant properties of objects from sensory information that varies moment by moment due to changes in viewing conditions. Although successful performance in constancy tasks requires cooperation between perception and working memory, the function of the memory system has been under-represented in recent material perception literature. Here, we addressed the limits of material constancy by elucidating if and how working memory is involved in constancy tasks by using a variety of material stimuli, such as metals, glass, and translucent objects. We conducted experiments with a simultaneous and a successive matching-to-sample paradigm in which participants matched the perceived material properties of objects with or without a temporal delay under varying illumination contexts. The current study combined a detailed analysis of matching errors, data on the strategy use obtained via a self-report questionnaire, and the statistical image analysis of diagnostic image cues used for material discrimination. We found a comparable material constancy between simultaneous and successive matching conditions, and it was suggested that, in both matching conditions, participants used similar information processing strategies for the discrimination of materials. The study provides converging evidence on the critical role of working memory in material constancy, where working memory serves as a shared processing bottleneck that constrains both simultaneous and successive material constancy.
AB - A key challenge for the visual system entails the extraction of constant properties of objects from sensory information that varies moment by moment due to changes in viewing conditions. Although successful performance in constancy tasks requires cooperation between perception and working memory, the function of the memory system has been under-represented in recent material perception literature. Here, we addressed the limits of material constancy by elucidating if and how working memory is involved in constancy tasks by using a variety of material stimuli, such as metals, glass, and translucent objects. We conducted experiments with a simultaneous and a successive matching-to-sample paradigm in which participants matched the perceived material properties of objects with or without a temporal delay under varying illumination contexts. The current study combined a detailed analysis of matching errors, data on the strategy use obtained via a self-report questionnaire, and the statistical image analysis of diagnostic image cues used for material discrimination. We found a comparable material constancy between simultaneous and successive matching conditions, and it was suggested that, in both matching conditions, participants used similar information processing strategies for the discrimination of materials. The study provides converging evidence on the critical role of working memory in material constancy, where working memory serves as a shared processing bottleneck that constrains both simultaneous and successive material constancy.
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U2 - 10.1167/jov.20.10.10
DO - 10.1167/jov.20.10.10
M3 - Article
C2 - 33022041
AN - SCOPUS:85092604865
VL - 20
SP - 1
EP - 16
JO - Journal of Vision
JF - Journal of Vision
SN - 1534-7362
IS - 10
ER -