Eye Movements Converge on Vanishing Points during Visual Search

Abstract

AbstractThe vanishing point seems to be a useful cue for understanding scenes at a glance. The closer the objects are, the smaller their sizes become. Because the resolution of central vision is higher than that of peripheral vision, seeing a vanishing point enables individuals to perceive the whole scene. Here, we examined whether vanishing points attract eye movements during visual search. In Experiment 1, we conducted a free‐viewing task to examine whether vanishing points play a significant role. In Experiment 2, the participants searched for a Gabor patch that was embedded in manmade or natural scenes. In Experiment 3, to investigate the robustness of the vanishing point effect, visual search was conducted using simpler geometric backgrounds. We observed that eye movements converged around vanishing points, and that the first fixations are also located around them. These results suggest that vanishing points as well as salient locations can capture eye movements, and eye movements are guided by such environmental structures.