When less is more: Line-drawings lead to greater boundary extension than color photographs

Abstract

Is boundary extension (false memory beyond the edges of the view; Intraub & Richardson, 1989) determined solely by the schematic structure of the view or does the quality of the pictorial information impact this error? To examine this color photograph or line-drawing versions of 12 multi-object scenes (Experiment 1: N=64) and 16 single-object scenes (Experiment 2: N=64) were presented for 14-s each. At test, the same pictures were each rated as being the "same", "closer-up" or "farther away" (5-pt scale). Although the layout, the scope of the view, the distance of the main objects to the edges, the background space and the gist of the scenes were held constant, line-drawings yielded greater boundary extension than did their photographic counterparts for multi-object (Experiment 1) and single-object (Experiment 2) scenes. Results are discussed in the context of the multisource model and its implications for the study of scene perception and memory.

Figure 1

The color photograph and outline drawing version of the “ballet class” stimulus from Experiment 1 (top row) and “man sitting” stimulus from Experiment 2 (bottom row). Note the photographs were shown in color.

Figure 2

Mean boundary ratings for the color photograph and outline drawing conditions in Experiment 1. Error bars indicate 95% confidence interval. Means significantly less than zero indicate boundary extension.

Figure 3

Mean boundary ratings for the color photograph and outline drawing conditions in Experiment 2. Error bars indicate 95% confidence interval. Means significantly less than zero indicate boundary extension.