Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026
07:34
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
Published on: June 3, 2013
Looking for discriminating is different from looking for looking's sake
Hans-Joachim Bieg1, Jean-Pierre Bresciani, Heinrich H Bülthoff
1Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Department of Human Perception, Cognition, and Action, Tübingen, Germany.
Plos One
|October 11, 2012
Summary
Processing visual information during a saccade (eye movement) speeds up the movement. This indicates that cognitive demands at the eye movement endpoint influence saccade characteristics.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Task demands can influence motor control, including eye movements.
- Previous research suggests coordination tasks increase saccade peak velocity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if processing visual information at the saccade endpoint is sufficient to alter saccade characteristics.
- To compare task-related saccades with classical target-elicited saccades.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed a visual discrimination task requiring a saccade.
- Saccade characteristics were compared between task-related and target-elicited conditions.
Main Results:
- Task-related saccades were faster and initiated earlier than target-elicited saccades.
- Differences were observed in saccade reaction time distributions and main sequences (velocity-duration-amplitude relationships).
Conclusions:
- The necessity of processing task-relevant visual information at the saccade endpoint can independently modulate saccade metrics.
- Cognitive factors at the endpoint significantly influence eye movement generation.
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