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

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision01:15

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

2.7K
Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.
2.7K
Gestalt Principles of Perception01:21

Gestalt Principles of Perception

1.8K
Gestalt principles provide a framework for understanding how humans perceive objects as unified wholes within their context. These principles are essential in explaining the cognitive processes that make sense of complex visual stimuli by organizing them into coherent groups. One fundamental principle is proximity, which posits that objects located close to each other are perceived as a collective group. For instance, when dots are positioned near one another, the visual system interprets them...
1.8K
Perceptual Constancy01:12

Perceptual Constancy

1.8K
Perceptual constancy is the ability to recognize that objects remain consistent and unchanged even when their appearance varies due to changes in sensory input. There are four main types of perceptual constancy: size constancy, shape constancy, color constancy, and brightness constancy.
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...
1.8K
Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

Association Areas of the Cortex

10.2K
Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
10.2K
Vision01:24

Vision

48.6K
Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
48.6K
Factors Affecting Perception01:25

Factors Affecting Perception

3.3K
Perception is influenced by perceptual set, context, motivation, and emotion. Perceptual set, or perceptual expectancy, refers to the tendency to perceive things in a particular way, influenced by previous experiences and expectations. This phenomenon affects the interpretation of stimuli, creating a set of mental tendencies and assumptions that impact sensory perceptions of sound, taste, touch, and sight.
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
3.3K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Distracted by Previous Experience: Integrating Selection History, Current Task Demands and Saliency in an Algorithmic Model.

Computational brain & behavior·2026
Same author

Victims of Conspiracies? An Examination of the Relationship Between Conspiracy Beliefs and Dispositional Individual Victimhood.

European journal of social psychology·2026
Same author

Effort expectation and strategic cue use in visual search.

Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience·2025
Same author

Measuring the semantic priming effect across many languages.

Nature human behaviour·2025
Same author

Crowdsourcing multiverse analyses to explore the impact of different data-processing and analysis decisions: A tutorial.

Psychological methods·2025
Same author

Data from an International Multi-Centre Study of Statistics and Mathematics Anxieties and Related Variables in University Students (the SMARVUS Dataset).

Journal of open psychology data·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 2, 2026

Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions
06:54

Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions

Published on: June 21, 2019

5.4K

Modulation of visual attention by object affordance.

Patricia Garrido-Vásquez1, Anna Schubö1

  • 1Experimental and Biological Psychology, Philipps University Marburg Marburg, Germany.

Frontiers in Psychology
|February 26, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Visual attention is biased towards graspable objects within reach. This study shows faster reaction times for near, graspable items, linking object affordance to attention.

Keywords:
attentiongraspabilitymotorobject affordancereachability

More Related Videos

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity
06:46

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

Published on: March 18, 2019

8.8K
VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation
10:41

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

Published on: March 25, 2011

12.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 2, 2026

Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions
06:54

Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions

Published on: June 21, 2019

5.4K
Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity
06:46

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

Published on: March 18, 2019

8.8K
VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation
10:41

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

Published on: March 25, 2011

12.2K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

  • Object affordance, the action possibilities an object offers, influences motor system activation.
  • Prior research suggests viewing affording objects triggers motor brain regions.
  • The link between object affordance and attentional bias remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if object affordance creates an attention bias.
  • To determine if graspable objects receive preferential visual attention compared to non-graspable or distant objects.
  • To explore the role of immediate graspability in this attention bias.

Main Methods:

  • A reaction time and motion tracking study in a virtual 3D environment.
  • Participants detected probes on objects varying in graspability and proximity (near/far).
  • An experiment included physically grasping objects to enhance motor association.

Main Results:

  • Probe detection was significantly faster for near, graspable objects.
  • Attention was preferentially allocated to graspable objects within reach.
  • Immediate graspability further enhanced this near-space advantage.

Conclusions:

  • Object affordance strongly influences visuospatial attention allocation.
  • Immediately graspable objects capture attention more effectively.
  • This research establishes a clear connection between motor affordance and visual attention.