A new set of 84 colored nonobjects

In this article, we present 84 nonobjects we created by using the colored object pictures from Rossion and Pourtois (2004). These nonobjects were explored on a number of measures, including object resemblance, visual complexity, and an object decision task (ODT). Object resemblance for nonobjects is a construct comparable to the "word-likeness" of phonotactically legal pseudowords. The nonobjects were rated as possible objects, showing similarity to real objects. Visual complexity ratings for objects and nonobjects were comparable. In the ODT, response times (RTs) were significantly longer for nonobjects than for real-object pictures. This RT difference is analogous to the word advantage, or lexicality effect, found in lexical decision tasks, in which responses for words are generally faster than those for nonwords. This nonobject set is freely available and has the advantage of having a companion set of real-object pictures. The nonobjects are available in color and in grayscale from brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.