invariant feature

a characteristic of an object that does not change when the object is viewed under different circumstances. Because invariant features are unaffected by manipulations of the object or the observer, they are powerful cues for object recognition by humans or machines. For example, when solid objects of different orientation are compared, the volume of the objects is an invariant feature.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

Megan’s law

an amendment to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act requiring that state registries of convicted but released sex offenders be disseminated to the public so that communities will be notified of offenders’ presence in a particular neighborhood. More formally known as the Community Notification Act, it was initially passed in New Jersey in 1994 after a repeat sex offender murdered a 7-year-old girl named Megan Nicole Kanka; it became a federal law in 1996.