Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, 2005.Includes bibliographical references.In the world, objects and settings tend to co-occur. Cars usually appear on streets with other vehicles, not in kitchens next to refrigerators. The present studies provide evidence that the semantic consistency of an object and its setting is available in a glimpse and affects perception. Objects are perceived more accurately in typical rather than atypical settings and when they appear with related objects regardless of the setting. Backgrounds are perceived more accurately when they contain plausible rather than unlikely foreground objects. Objects and scenes are processed interactively, not in isolation.by Jodi L. Davenport.Ph.D.