The Effect of Active Learning on Viewpoint Dependence for Novel Objects

Active learning of novel objects can facilitate subsequent object recognition and discrimination, but the reasons for its beneficial effects remain unclear. One potential explanation is that active learning enables the formation of a more detailed, realistic, or useful neural object representation than does passive learning. The current study addressed the question of whether active vs. passive learning of objects affects viewpoint discrimination. Participants learned novel wire-like objects either actively or passively and then completed a psychophysical task which they discriminated object orientation. This study did not find a significant difference in viewpoint discrimination between actively and passively learned object representations, which stands in contrast to earlier studies that found an effect of active learning on object recognition across different viewpoints. This suggests that viewpoint discrimination and viewpoint generalization rely on different mechanisms.

Name thesis:degree_name

M Sc

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Neuroscience

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Western Ontario

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Bacher, Cassandra Wallace

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Culham, Jody C.
• Mur, Marieke
• Goodale, Melvyn A.

• visual perception
• object recognition
• active and passive learning
• viewpoint dependence
• viewpoint tuning
• psychophysics

Language dc:language.iso

en_ca

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/32532

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/32532