Riou, B. & Versace, R.
Laboratoire d'Etudes des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EMC). Université Lumière Lyon 2. Lyon, France
This study assesses whether memory and perception share common processes. We used a visual priming paradigm to test if a typical size (size in real life) difference could improve the detection of a perceptual size difference. The primes were pairs of familiar objects displayed simultaneously. The two objects had either the same or different typical sizes. Two squares, with the same or a different displayed physical size, were presented as targets. The participants were instructed to decide whether the two squares displayed simultaneously had the same or different size. Our results showed a priming effect: the latencies to detect the target physical size difference were shorter when the typical size between the primes was also different rather than the same. Further, when both the typical size of primes and the physical size of targets were different, latencies were shorter when, at a same location of the screen, the typical size of one of the primes mismatched the physical size of one of the targets. We therefore discuss the results following the embodied cognition framework. We conclude that memory and perception could share a common process to compute typical and perceptual size difference.