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Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
Published on: January 23, 2017
Attention is biased to near surfaces
Greg L West1, Jay Pratt, Mary A Peterson
1Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Pavillon Marie-Victorin, 90 Avenue Vincent d'Indy, Montreal, Quebec, H2V 2S9, Canada, gregory.west@umontreal.ca.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|July 31, 2013
Summary
Near surfaces automatically attract visual attention, independent of shape or prior attentional history. This study demonstrates that proximity is a key factor in attentional allocation, guiding focus to closer objects.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Visual Perception
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Attention is often directed towards figure elements over background stimuli.
- The specific visual attributes (e.g., nearness, shape) driving attentional effects remain unclear.
- The automaticity versus strategic control of these attentional effects is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether attention is preferentially allocated to nearer surfaces.
- To determine if nearness, independent of shape, influences attention.
- To assess whether attentional allocation to nearer surfaces is an automatic process.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a temporal order judgment (TOJ) paradigm to measure attention.
- Employed stimuli where nearness was not confounded with shape.
- Used stimuli as temporal order probes in a second experiment to assess independence of prior attention.
- Conducted a third experiment to exclude lateral inhibition as an explanation.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that attention is allocated to the nearer of two surfaces.
- Confirmed that this attentional bias towards nearness is independent of previous attentional allocation.
- Ruled out lateral inhibition from the pretarget background as the cause of the attentional bias.
Conclusions:
- Near surfaces possess an inherent ability to attract attention.
- The allocation of attention to nearer surfaces appears to be an automatic process.
- Proximity is a significant factor in visual attentional guidance.
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