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Component-Specific Advantages in Visual Attention Across Experience Groups: A UFOV Study
Siyu Guo1, Ziyao Liu1, Lu Yin2
1School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 4, 2026
Summary
Visual attention skills are specific, not universal. Expertise in visually demanding activities like table tennis and video games enhances selective attention, especially under competition, unlike general physical training.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human Factors
Background:
- Visual attention is crucial for processing information efficiently.
- Understanding how experience shapes attentional abilities is key to optimizing performance.
- Previous research suggests experience can enhance visual attention, but the specificity of these benefits remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether experience-related advantages in visual attention are uniform or specific to different attentional components.
- To compare visual attention performance across individuals with diverse experiential backgrounds.
Main Methods:
- A modified Useful Field of View (UFOV) paradigm was employed.
- Four groups were compared: table tennis players (TTPs), action video game players (AVGPs), aerobic gymnastics athletes (AGAs), and non-trained college students (NCSs).
- Tasks assessed central identification, divided attention, and selective attention under varying levels of interference and visual competition.
Main Results:
- No group differences were found in basic central identification (Subtest 1).
- All experienced groups (TTPs, AVGPs, AGAs) outperformed NCSs in divided attention (Subtest 2).
- TTPs and AVGPs showed superior performance in selective attention under high competition (Subtest 3), outperforming AGAs and NCSs, while AGAs did not differ from controls.
Conclusions:
- Experience-related advantages in visual attention are component-specific, not global.
- Benefits are most pronounced under demanding conditions requiring attentional control and interference management.
- Visually demanding expertise, like that of TTPs and AVGPs, confers greater advantages in selective attention than general physical training alone.
