  The perceived similarity between objects has often been attributed to their
physical and conceptual features, such as appearance and animacy, and the
theoretical framework of object space is accordingly conceived. Here, we extend
this framework by proposing that object space may also be defined by embodied
features, specifically action possibilities that objects afford to an agent
(i.e., affordance) and their spatial relation with the agent (i.e.,
situatedness). To test this proposal, we quantified the embodied features with
a set of action atoms. We found that embodied features explained the subjective
similarity among familiar objects along with the objects' visual features. This
observation was further replicated with novel objects. Our study demonstrates
that embodied features, which place objects within an ecological context, are
essential in constructing object space in the human visual system, emphasizing
the importance of incorporating embodiment as a fundamental dimension in our
understanding of the visual world.
