Pattern representations become more permissive as component variance grows

Evidence

Our results are compatible with the notion that in constructing object representations, the tolerance of the representation is a function of the variance in the pattern, i.e. increasing variance in object components, leads to more permissive representations. … This makes sense when the general problem of perceptual categorisation is considered; e.g. the variability of the spoken word. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5263

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that representational tolerance scales with pattern variance bridges pitch perception to general categorization (speech variability) — a dense, generalizable perceptual principle.
• XREF: Connects to predictive coding accounts of perception and to general object-categorization theory beyond audition.