Recognition according to a visual object’s function

Abstract

In a prior study of object recognition, Rosch and colleagues (1976) argued that within the hierarchical structure of categories, from superordinate (e.g., stationary), basic (e.g., pen) and to subordinate categories (e.g., red pen), basic-category objects are recognized first. However, their prior study did not investigate the higher concept of function. Accordingly, in this study, we examine the role of functional categories(e.g., something to cut with)within the object-recognition system in terms of access speeds for the relevant concepts. The results from Experiments 1 and 2 indicate that object recognition based on functional categories is executed faster than recognition based on superordinate categories. In Experiment 3, which employed the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) detection task, the performance differences for the functional and basic categories were not significant, but detection results were higher for functional categories compared to superordinate categories. These results suggest that functional categories are recognized during the initial stages of object recognition and that this concept plays an important role in the recognition of man-made objects.