Component-Specific Advantages in Visual Attention Across Experience Groups: A UFOV Study

Visual attention involves the efficient allocation of processing resources across space and under conditions of visual competition. This study examined whether experience-related advantages in visual attention are expressed uniformly or selectively across attentional components. Using a modified Useful Field of View (UFOV) paradigm, four groups with distinct experiential backgrounds were compared: table tennis players (TTPs), action video game players (AVGPs), aerobic gymnastics athletes (AGAs), and non-trained college students (NCSs). Subtest 1 assessed central identification under relatively low attentional control demands. No significant group differences were observed, indicating comparable basic central identification performance across groups. Subtests 2 and 3 assessed divided attention and selective attention under interference, respectively. In Subtest 2, all experienced groups outperformed NCSs, with no differences among TTPs, AVGPs, and AGAs. In Subtest 3 under high visual competition, performance diverged; TTPs and AVGPs outperformed both AGAs and NCSs, whereas AGAs did not differ from controls. These findings indicate that experience-related advantages in visual attention are component-specific rather than global, and become most evident when tasks place stronger demands on attentional control under interference. The advantage pattern shown by TTPs under higher attentional control demands was more compatible with visually demanding experience than with physical training alone. No significant interactions with eccentricity were observed, suggesting consistent group differences across peripheral distances.