Functional Architectures in Structural Recognition and the Role of “Seeming Redundancy”

It is a commonplace in psychophysics that the performance of “sensory” tasks is a joint function of (mainly quantitative) stimulus attributes and task demands. “Beyond sensation,” there is a shift of emphasis: Structural stimulus properties become dominant. The manifold of possible task demands expands strikingly, pushing the number of potentially relevant stimulus attributes practically beyond any limit. At the same time, the involvement of memory becomes virtually universal.