The effect of background information on object identification

The Role of Background on Object Identification (September 1987) Susan J. Boyce B.S., Ursinus College M.S., University of Massachusetts Directed by: Professor Alexander Pollatsek This thesis examines the role that scene backgrounds play in object identification. Previous research has indicated that objects located in a coherent scene are easier to identify. This research employed the brief presentation method used In previous research on scene perception. Experiment 1 Indicates that objects are more difficult to identify when they are located in an "episodically" inconsistent background. Experiment 2 demonstrates that the degree to which non-cued (cohort) objects are consistent with the target object has no effect on this object identification task. Experiment 3 shows that consistent episodic background information facilitates object identification and Inconsistent episodic background information does not interfere. The results of these studies indicate that models of scene perception will have to be mod i f i ed .