Too much to handle? Interference from distractors with similar affordances on target selection for handled objects

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Perception
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Handle affordances are typically studied using simple Stimulus-Response Compatibility paradigms.
• Previous research has not fully explored how multiple affordances in natural scenes affect object processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of distractor affordances on target object processing.
• To determine if affordance similarity between objects interferes with or facilitates selection.

Main Methods:

• Two online experiments with 229 participants.
• Participants identified a target object in a visual scene with a distractor object.
• Response times were measured based on target location, handle orientation, and affordance similarity.

Main Results:

• Slower response times were observed when target and distractor objects had similar handle affordances compared to dissimilar ones.
• This interference was particularly noted for right-hand responses and compatible target-response pairings.
• Affordance similarity between objects appears to hinder, not help, object processing and selection.

Conclusions:

• Affordance similarity can lead to interference in object selection, slowing down processing.
• Findings support models of object selection that include automatic inhibition of distractor affordances.
• Efficient object interaction may rely on suppressing irrelevant affordances in complex visual scenes.