BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and concurrent validity of length measurements (distance between two points) produced by a computer-interfaced, three-dimensional digitizer called the Metrecom. METHODS A total of 344 points were marked on the surfaces of five different inanimate objects and were digitized in pairs with the Metrecom. On the first thr...

One of the most remarkable properties of the visual system is the ability to identify and categorize a wide variety of objects effortlessly. However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain elusive. Specifically, the question of how individual object information is represented and intrinsically organized is still poorly understood. To address this question, we presented images of isolated real-...

Many studies have suggested that emotional stimuli orient and engage attention. There is also evidence that animate stimuli, such as those from humans and animals, cause attentional bias. However, categorical and emotional factors are usually mixed, and it is unclear to what extent human context influences attentional allocation. To address this issue, we tracked participants' eye movements whi...

This essay uses Object-Oriented Ontology, a posthumanist theoretical model, to explore how King Lear’s use of and relation objects can provide insight into his characterization. provides model for scrutinizing the role objects—whether animate or inanimate—in performances early modern drama; furthermore, it argues that reveals consistent refusal understand others, which upsets redemptive arc in ...

Humans tend to perceive inanimate objects as animate based on simple motion cues. So far this perceptual bias has been studied mostly in humans by utilizing two-dimensional video and interactive displays. Considering its importance for survival, the perception of animacy is probably also widespread among animals, however two-dimensional displays are not necessarily the best approach to study th...

Abstract We use large-scale corpora in six different gendered languages, along with tools from NLP and information theory, to test whether there is a relationship between the grammatical genders of inanimate nouns adjectives used describe those nouns. For all we find that statistically significant relationship. also are relationships verbs take as direct objects, indirect subjects. defer deeper...

The rapid visual detection of other people in our environment is an important first step in social cognition. Here we provide evidence for selective sensitivity of the human visual system to upright depictions of conspecifics. In a series of seven experiments, we assessed the impact of stimulus inversion on the detection of person silhouettes, headless bodies, faces and other objects from a wid...

Agents are semi-autonomous software entities that perform tasks on behalf of their users. One of the attributes an agent may possess is anthropomorphism the projection of human characteristics onto non-human or inanimate objects. As anthropomorphic agents become more common we need to consider what impact they will have on their human users. I put forward a for and against argument drawn from t...

This paper presents research in enhancing character animation using motion capture data and retargeting motion from one character model to another. Our particular interest lies in animating non-human characters and inanimate objects. The main goal of the project is to use lattice deformations to animate an object and smooth out the kinks in the animation at the bending of the joints. CR Categor...

Information related to the self tends to be better remembered than other information. Mentalization (i.e., attributing mind to an external entity) is one potential intervening factor in contrasting myself, others “like me”, and inanimate objects. Twenty-seven undergraduates (mean age 23.6 years, 16 women) responded to a Remember/Know (R/K) recognition task. In the study phase, 78 words were pre...