Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Circling around number: People can accurately extract numeric values from circle area ratios.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2022
Same author

Task Constraints Affect Mapping From Approximate Number System Estimates to Symbolic Numbers.

Frontiers in psychology·2018
Same author

Artificial consciousness and the consciousness-attention dissociation.

Consciousness and cognition·2016
Same author

Fractions as percepts? Exploring cross-format distance effects for fractional magnitudes.

Cognitive psychology·2015
Same author

What counts? Visual and verbal cues interact to influence what is considered a countable thing.

Memory & cognition·2015
Same author

On the evolution of conscious attention.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2014

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Simultaneous Eye Tracking and Single-Neuron Recordings in Human Epilepsy Patients
07:43

Simultaneous Eye Tracking and Single-Neuron Recordings in Human Epilepsy Patients

Published on: June 17, 2019

Evidence for a shared mechanism used in multiple-object tracking and subitizing.

Dana L Chesney1, Harry Haroutioun Haladjian

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, 118 Haggar Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. Dana.Chesney.3@nd.edu

Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|October 5, 2011
PubMed
Summary

The ability to track multiple moving objects shares a visual mechanism with subitizing, the quick enumeration of small object sets. Performance on subitizing tasks decreased as the number of tracked objects increased, supporting this shared mechanism.

More Related Videos

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets
08:45

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

Utilizing vmTracking to Improve the Accuracy of Multi-Animal Pose Estimation in Rodent Social Behavior Studies
07:34

Utilizing vmTracking to Improve the Accuracy of Multi-Animal Pose Estimation in Rodent Social Behavior Studies

Published on: November 7, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 28, 2026

Simultaneous Eye Tracking and Single-Neuron Recordings in Human Epilepsy Patients
07:43

Simultaneous Eye Tracking and Single-Neuron Recordings in Human Epilepsy Patients

Published on: June 17, 2019

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets
08:45

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

Utilizing vmTracking to Improve the Accuracy of Multi-Animal Pose Estimation in Rodent Social Behavior Studies
07:34

Utilizing vmTracking to Improve the Accuracy of Multi-Animal Pose Estimation in Rodent Social Behavior Studies

Published on: November 7, 2025

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Visual Perception

Background:

  • Subitizing allows rapid enumeration of small object quantities.
  • Multiple object tracking (MOT) involves following several moving items.
  • A proposed shared mechanism links MOT and subitizing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if the mechanism supporting MOT also supports subitizing.
  • To test the shared visual mechanism hypothesis by combining tasks.

Main Methods:

  • Participants performed simultaneous enumeration and MOT tasks.
  • Enumeration involved identifying flashed squares (0-9).
  • MOT involved tracking moving discs (0, 2, or 4).

Main Results:

  • Subitizable quantity decreased by one for each tracked object.
  • This effect was specific to visual tasks.
  • No impairment was observed when enumeration was paired with a non-visual working memory task.

Conclusions:

  • Findings suggest a shared visual mechanism underlies both MOT and subitizing.
  • This shared resource is likely modality-specific (visual).
  • The study provides evidence for integrated visual processing in attention and enumeration.