The integration of object properties

Is a complex object learned as a whole from the onset of learning, or is property recall fragmented and only integrated with repeated experience? The authors studied the recall of 3-property visual objects and found that even when property recall was low, recall coherence was high. Properties not organized as visual objects did not show high recall coherence. In addition, the authors failed to find evidence that spatial location, spatial proximity, spatial distinctiveness, distinctive motion, or perceptual grouping induced by common motion affected the integration of properties. Unitariness, temporal contiguity, and intention, however, were factors that influenced memory coherence. The authors concluded that integration occurs when properties are encoded as the constituents of a cognitive structure.