Abstract
It is known that perceptual learning often does not transfer to other locations in the visual field. As an example, category learning with nine-dot displays did not transfer to retinal locations away from the training location. However, category learning did transfer when the stimulus was a line drawing of a novel 3D object. While the nine-dot and line drawing stimuli differed in many ways, one important difference could have been that the dot displays contained nine features and the line drawings that we used contained only three features. In the dot displays, nine dot positions were either consistent with the category (members) or random (non-members). In the line drawing displays, three cylinders were attached to three faces of a pyramid and the relative locations of the cylinders determined if the stimulus was a category member or not. Our current hypothesis was that color could be used to promote chunking of the nine dots, thereby reducing the apparent number of features to three. If an important difference between the nine-dot and line drawing displays were nine vs. three features, then we would predict category learning with colored dots would transfer to other locations. The results will be discussed in terms of the possible underlying physiology.