The role of semantics in the perceptual organization of shape

Establishing correspondence between objects is fundamental for object constancy, similarity perception, and identifying transformations. This study measured point-to-point correspondence between object pairs with extremely different shapes but similar semantic parts (e.g., butterflies and owls). Results show correspondence is established based on semantic parts (head, wings, legs). A zero-parameter model based on labeled semantic part data accurately explains the data, outperforming a contour curvature model. This demonstrates that correspondence between dissimilar objects is established by evaluating semantic part similarity, combining perceptual organization and cognitive processes.

Filipp Schmidt, Jasmin Kleis, Yaniv Morgenstern, Roland W. Fleming