IMAGINING AND NAMING ROTATED NATURAL OBJECTS

The present experiment examined whether subjects can form and store im agined objects in various orientations. Subjects in a training phase n amed line drawings of natural objects shown at six orientations, named objects shown upright, or imagined upright objects at six orientation s. Time to imagine an upright object at another orientation increased the farther the designated orientation was from the upright, with fast er image formation times at 180 degrees than at 120 degrees. Similar s ystematic patterns of effects of orientation on identification time we re found for rotated objects. During the test phase, all subjects name d the previously experienced objects as well as new objects, at six or ientations. The orientation effect for old objects seen previously in a variety of orientations was much reduced relative to the orientation effect for new objects. In contrast, substantial effects of orientati on on naming time were observed for old objects for subjects who had p reviously seen the objects upright only or upright but imagined at dif ferent orientations. The results suggest that the attenuation of initi ally large effects of orientation with practice cannot be due to imagi ning and forming representations of objects at a number of orientation s.