Visual attention allocation between social and navigational cues during wayfinding: An eye-tracking study in virtual...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Environmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Navigating complex built environments requires efficient visual attention.
• Social stimuli can compete for attentional resources, potentially impacting task performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of human presence on visual attention and navigation in a built environment.
• To determine how social stimuli affect the allocation of attention towards signage and navigation performance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized immersive virtual reality (VR) and eye-tracking technology.
• Participants navigated a virtual airport terminal with and without dynamic human avatars.
• Measured fixation durations on signage and human figures, alongside navigation task metrics (duration, errors, spatial knowledge).

Main Results:

• Social settings led to reduced fixation on signage and increased fixation on human figures, indicating attentional competition.
• Attention to signage was negatively correlated with human fixation duration and positively predicted fewer navigation errors.
• Human presence indirectly increased navigation errors by drawing attention away from signage.

Conclusions:

• Social stimuli significantly capture attention, reducing the processing of critical environmental cues like signage.
• The findings emphasize the perceptual challenges in socially dense public spaces.
• Maintaining signage visibility and attractiveness is crucial for effective navigation in crowded environments.