A Comparative Study on Categorization Using Visual Search Tasks

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The present study investigated visual search in pigeons, using an artificial category created by morphing of human faces. Search performances in one task in which pigeons were required to search for category members (targets) among category-unspecified nonmembers (distractors) were compared with those in another task where the roles of the targets and of the distractors were reversed. A series of experiments revealed facilitative effects of categorization on search efficiency, transfer of efficient search to novel stimuli, typicality effect of category exemplars, development of automatic processing by practice, and search asymmetry. Perceptual and cognitive mechanisms were discussed in the context of visual search and categorization theories.