Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2026
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
The mind's average: Unseen, internally generated ensemble representations can guide visual attention
Kristina Knox1,2, Jonathan S Cant3, Jay Pratt4
1Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada. kristina.knox@mail.utoronto.ca.
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|June 9, 2026
Summary
Internally generated statistical representations, known as ensemble representations, can guide spatial attention. The strength of these ensemble representations influences whether attention is effectively deployed, showing a reciprocal interaction between attention and ensemble processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Attention influences ensemble processing, which creates statistical summaries of visual scenes.
- The reciprocal influence of ensemble representations on attention remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether internally generated ensemble representations can influence the deployment of spatial attention.
- To determine if the strength of ensemble representations modulates attentional guidance.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments used a modified attentional cueing paradigm with an ensemble task.
- Participants viewed arrays of ovals and performed either an ensemble or probe task.
- Varying the proportion of ensemble task trials and the relationship of foil objects to the ensemble size manipulated representation strength.
Main Results:
- Attentional guidance was observed when the foil object was outside the ensemble size range and ensemble task trials were frequent (Experiment 1).
- No attentional guidance was found when ensemble task trials were infrequent, suggesting weaker internal representations (Experiment 2).
Conclusions:
- Ensemble representations can actively influence the deployment of spatial attention.
- The cognitive mechanisms of ensemble processing and spatial attention exhibit a reciprocal interaction.
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