PhilSci Archive

Three grades of subject-dependency in object perception

Ivy, Spencer and Mroczko-Wasowicz, Aleksandra (2025) Three grades of subject-dependency in object perception. [Preprint]

[img] Text
Three grades of subject-dependency PREPRINT.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (473kB)

Abstract

In this paper, we argue that a perceiver’s contributions to perception can substantially affect what objects are represented in perceptual experience. To capture the scalar nature of these perceiver-contingent contributions, we introduce three grades of subject-dependency in object perception. The first grade, “weak subject-dependency,” concerns attentional changes to perceptual content like, for instance, when a perceiver turns their head, plugs their ears, or primes their attention to a particular cue. The second grade, “moderate subject-dependency,” concerns changes in the contingent features of perceptual objects due to action-orientation, location, and agential interest. For instance, being to the right or left of an object will cause the object to have a corresponding locative feature, but that feature is non-essential to the object in question. Finally, the third grade, “strong subject-dependency,” concerns generating perceptual objects whose existence depends upon their perceivers’ sensory contributions to perception. For this final grade of subject-dependency the adaptive perceptual system shapes diverse representations of sensory information by contributing necessary features to perceptual objects. To exemplify this nonstandard form of object perception we offer evidence from the future-directed anticipation of perceptual experts, and from the feature binding of synesthetes. We conclude that strongly subject-dependent perceptual objects are more than mere material objects, but are rather a necessary combination of material objects with the contributions of a perceiving subject.


Export/Citation: EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL
Social Networking:
Share |

Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Ivy, Spencer0000-0002-6890-9312
Mroczko-Wasowicz, Aleksandraaleksandra.mroczko-wasowicz@uw.edu.pl0000-0002-3511-1355
Keywords: Subject-Dependent; Object Perception; Perceptual Expertise; Synesthesia; Feature Binding; Anticipation
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Concepts and Representations
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Perception
Specific Sciences > Psychology
Depositing User: Dr. Aleksandra Mroczko-Wasowicz
Date Deposited: 26 Jul 2025 13:14
Last Modified: 26 Jul 2025 13:14
Item ID: 26025
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Concepts and Representations
Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Perception
Specific Sciences > Psychology
Date: 21 July 2025
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/26025

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item