Training 'greeble' experts: a framework for studying expert object recognition processes
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I Gauthier1, P Williams, M J Tarr
1Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. isabel.gauthier@yale.edu
Abstract:
Twelve participants were trained to be experts at identifying a set of 'Greebles', novel objects that, like faces, all share a common spatial configuration. Tests comparing expert with novice performance revealed: (1) a surprising mix of generalizability and specificity in expert object recognition processes; and (2) that expertise is a multi-faceted phenomenon, neither adequately described by a single term nor adequately assessed by a single task. Greeble recognition by a simple neural-network model is also evaluated, and the model is found to account surprisingly well for both generalization and individuation using a single set of processes and representations.
