The Influence of Perspective of an Inanimate Object on the Boundary Extension Phenomena [abstract only]

One of the most compelling phenomena in visual memory is the Boundary Extension (BE) which is the tendency to remember close-up scenes as if they include more information than that was seen. Intraub and Richardson (1989; JEP:LMC), suggested that this phenomenon is due to a filling in process: we fill the scene with information around the boundaries based on our knowledge. For the BE to occur, the scene must be perceived as part of a continuous environment. This project investigated whether the BE can be implicitly affected by the directional information provided by a camera. In the learning phase of a recognition experiment, participants were presented with an image on a computer screen that could have been cropped either to the left or to the right whilst a camera could have been positioned either to their left or right. In the testing phase, the image was then presented again, and participants were asked to judge if it was the same. Results showed that the BE magnitude reduces when the camera is in the same side of the cropped images. It is concluded that implicit directional cues can affect our ability to visually memorize images

ECVP 2022- A dual-process model of visual perspective taking: the role of others’ directional features.

A dual-process model of visual perspective taking: the role of others’ directional features

The role of domain-general and mentalizing processes in spontaneous visual perspective-taking

We cannot help but be influenced by the presence of others. Even when the others are not actively engaging with us, their mere view interferes with our focus hindering our actions or tasks. Two accounts have advanced an explanation of the processes underlying this interference effect. On one hand, this interference has been explained in terms of the implicit mentalizing process, a social process, thanks to which people can fast and unconsciously process others’ visual perspectives. On the other hand, a second interpretation, known as sub-mentalizing, explains the interference by means of low-level domain-general cognitive processes such as involuntary attentional orienting driven by the other’s directional features. By employing for the first time a set of bi-directional cues, it was possible to isolate the social features of the others and measure their relative contribution in generating this interference effect. The results of a series of experiments suggested that both mentalizing and low-level domain-general processes may be behind this phenomenon laying the basis of a novel interpretative model of the interference effect which provides a comprehensive framework for understanding this phenomenon. The novel model encompasses both interpretations by comprising two fast involuntary processes: an automatic attentional orienting process driven by the directional features of others; and a spontaneous mentalizing process driven by the social relevance and intentionality of others. The model also includes a voluntary decisional response selection process that modulates the interference depending on task demands and working memory resources