Real-World Objects Are Not Represented as Bound Units:
Independent Forgetting of Different Object Details From Visual Memory
Brady, Konkle, Alvarez, & Oliva
Are real-world objects represented as bound units? Although a great deal of research has examined
binding between the feature dimensions of simple shapes, little work has examined whether the featural
properties of real-world objects are stored in a single unitary object representation. In a first experiment,
we found that information about an objectÕs color is forgotten more rapidly than the information about
an objectÕs state (e.g., open, closed), suggesting that observers do not forget objects as entirely bound
units. In a second and third experiment, we examined whether state and exemplar information are
forgotten separately or together. If these properties are forgotten separately, the probability of getting one
feature correct should be independent of whether the other feature was correct. We found that after a short
delay, observers frequently remember both state and exemplar information about the same objects, but
after a longer delay, memory for the two properties becomes independent. This indicates that information
about object state and exemplar are forgotten separately over time. We thus conclude that real-world
objects are not represented in a single unitary representation in visual memory.
Brady, T. F., Konkle, T., Alvarez, G. A., & Oliva, A. (2013). Real-world objects are not represented as bound units: Independent forgetting of different object details from visual memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(3), 791-808.