Real-world objects are more memorable than photographs of objects
Research studies in psychology typically use two-dimensional (2D) images of objects as proxies for real-world three-dimensional (3D) stimuli. There are, however, a number of important differences between real objects and images that could influence cognition and behavior. Although human memory has b...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00837/full |
| _version_ | 1828873104661676032 |
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| author | Jacqueline C Snow Rafal M Skiba Taylor C Coleman Marian E Berryhill |
| author_facet | Jacqueline C Snow Rafal M Skiba Taylor C Coleman Marian E Berryhill |
| author_sort | Jacqueline C Snow |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research studies in psychology typically use two-dimensional (2D) images of objects as proxies for real-world three-dimensional (3D) stimuli. There are, however, a number of important differences between real objects and images that could influence cognition and behavior. Although human memory has been studied extensively, only a handful of studies have used real objects in the context of memory and virtually none have directly compared memory for real objects versus their 2D counterparts. Here we examined whether or not episodic memory is influenced by the format in which objects are displayed. We conducted two experiments asking participants to freely recall, and to recognize, a set of 44 common household objects. Critically, the exemplars were displayed to observers in one of three viewing conditions: real-world objects, colored photographs, or black and white line drawings. Stimuli were closely matched across conditions for size, orientation, and illumination. Surprisingly, recall and recognition performance was significantly better for real objects compared to colored photographs or line drawings (for which memory performance was equivalent). We replicated this pattern in a second experiment comparing memory for real objects versus color photos, when the stimuli were matched for viewing angle across conditions. Again, recall and recognition performance was significantly better for the real objects than matched color photos of the same items. Taken together, our data suggest that real objects are more memorable than pictorial stimuli. Our results highlight the importance of studying real-world object cognition and raise the potential for applied use in developing effective strategies for education, marketing, and further research on object-related cognition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T07:08:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c04b1ef628554bab8e4407e28791a371 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T07:08:11Z |
| publishDate | 2014-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-c04b1ef628554bab8e4407e28791a3712022-12-21T23:55:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612014-10-01810.3389/fnhum.2014.00837112193Real-world objects are more memorable than photographs of objectsJacqueline C Snow0Rafal M Skiba1Taylor C Coleman2Marian E Berryhill3University of NevadaUniversity of NevadaUniversity of NevadaUniversity of NevadaResearch studies in psychology typically use two-dimensional (2D) images of objects as proxies for real-world three-dimensional (3D) stimuli. There are, however, a number of important differences between real objects and images that could influence cognition and behavior. Although human memory has been studied extensively, only a handful of studies have used real objects in the context of memory and virtually none have directly compared memory for real objects versus their 2D counterparts. Here we examined whether or not episodic memory is influenced by the format in which objects are displayed. We conducted two experiments asking participants to freely recall, and to recognize, a set of 44 common household objects. Critically, the exemplars were displayed to observers in one of three viewing conditions: real-world objects, colored photographs, or black and white line drawings. Stimuli were closely matched across conditions for size, orientation, and illumination. Surprisingly, recall and recognition performance was significantly better for real objects compared to colored photographs or line drawings (for which memory performance was equivalent). We replicated this pattern in a second experiment comparing memory for real objects versus color photos, when the stimuli were matched for viewing angle across conditions. Again, recall and recognition performance was significantly better for the real objects than matched color photos of the same items. Taken together, our data suggest that real objects are more memorable than pictorial stimuli. Our results highlight the importance of studying real-world object cognition and raise the potential for applied use in developing effective strategies for education, marketing, and further research on object-related cognition.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00837/fullMemoryrecognition memoryPicturesRecallReal-worldReal objects |
| spellingShingle | Jacqueline C Snow Rafal M Skiba Taylor C Coleman Marian E Berryhill Real-world objects are more memorable than photographs of objects Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Memory recognition memory Pictures Recall Real-world Real objects |
| title | Real-world objects are more memorable than photographs of objects |
| title_full | Real-world objects are more memorable than photographs of objects |
| title_fullStr | Real-world objects are more memorable than photographs of objects |
| title_full_unstemmed | Real-world objects are more memorable than photographs of objects |
| title_short | Real-world objects are more memorable than photographs of objects |
| title_sort | real world objects are more memorable than photographs of objects |
| topic | Memory recognition memory Pictures Recall Real-world Real objects |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00837/full |
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