What’s in a name? This project examines how naming objects might influence the long-term visual representations of those objects in memory. Our work experimentally contrasts competing hypotheses for how naming might influence visual perception, memory encoding, and memory retrieval of objects. We also instantiate competing hypotheses in computational models whose predictions can be qualitatively and quantitatively contrasted.

Richler, J.J., Palmeri, T.J., & Gauthier, I. (2013). How does using object names influence visual recognition memory? Journal of Memory and Language, 68, 10-25.

Richler, J.J., Gauthier, I., & Palmeri, T.J. (2011). Automaticity of basic-level categorization accounts for labeling effects in visual recognition memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 37, 1579-1587.