Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
Published on: November 2, 2012
What is a visual object?
1Department of Psychology, Center for Cognitive Science, Rutgers University, NJ 08903, New Brunswick, USA
Abstract:
The concept of an 'object' plays a central role in cognitive science, particularly in vision, reasoning and conceptual development - but it has rarely been given a concrete formal definition. Here I argue that visual objects cannot be defined according to simple physical properties but can instead be understood in terms of the hierarchical organization of visual scene interpretations. Within the tree describing such a hierarchical description, certain nodes make natural candidates as the 'joints' between objects, representing division points between parts of the image that cohere internally but do not perceptually group with one another. Thus each subtree hanging from such a node corresponds to a single perceived 'object'. This formal definition accords with several intuitions about the way objects behave.
Related Concept Videos
Vision
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
Visual System
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Perceptual Constancy
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...
Visual Agnosia

