Categorization is a complex decision-making process that requires observers to collect information about stimuli using their senses. While research on visual or auditory categorization is extensive, there has been little attention given to tactile categorization. Here we developed a paradigm for studying tactile categorization using 3D-printed objects. Furthermore, we derived a categorization model using Bayesian inference and tested its performance against human participants in our categorization task. This model accurately predicted participant performance in our task but consistently outperformed them, even after extending the learning period for our participants. Through theoretical exploration and simulations, we demonstrated that the presence of sensory measurement noise could account for this performance gap, which we determined was a present factor in participants undergoing our task through a follow-up experiment. Including measurement noise led to a better-fitting model that was able to match the performance of our participants much more closely. Overall, the work in this thesis provides evidence for the efficacy of a tactile categorization experimental paradigm, demonstrates that a Bayesian model is a good fit and predictor for human categorization performance, and underscores the importance of accounting for sensory measurement noise in categorization models. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The process of categorization is an essential part of our daily life as we encounter various things in the world. Here we explore a model that attempts to explain this process. This model is derived using Bayesian inference and was applied to human behavioural data in a categorization task. We found that the model accounted for most of the performance of our participants but consistently outperformed them. We conducted simulations to explore and demonstrate that this difference is primarily due to the presence of sensory noise in participants. Once we accounted for this noise, we found that our model predicted human performance even more accurately. The work in this thesis demonstrates that a Bayesian Categorization Model which accounts for sensory noise is a good fit and predictor for human performance on categorization tasks.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/29559 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Gauder, Kyra Alice |
| Contributors | Goldreich, Daniel, Psychology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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