Abstract
Repeated search studies are a hallmark in the investigation of the interplay between memory and attention. Due to a usually employed averaging, a substantial decrease in response times occurring between the first and second search through the same search environment is rarely discussed. This search initiation effect is often the most dramatic decrease in search times in a series of sequential searches. The nature of this initial lack of search efficiency has thus far remained unexplored. We tested the hypothesis that the activation of spatial priors leads to this search efficiency profile. Before searching repeatedly through scenes in VR, participants either (1) previewed the scene, (2) saw an interrupted preview, or (3) started searching immediately. The search initiation effect was present in the latter condition but in neither of the preview conditions. Eye movement metrics revealed that the locus of this effect lies in search guidance instead of search initiation or decision time, and was beyond effects of object learning or incidental memory. Our study suggests that upon visual processing of an environment, a process of activating spatial priors to enable orientation is initiated, which takes a toll on search time at first, but once activated it can be used to guide subsequent searches.
Highlights
Imagine you are invited to your new colleague’s home to prepare dinner together.Even though you see this kitchen for the first time, you already have an idea about where to find the ingredients you need for the spaghetti with tomato sauce
Together with preliminary experimental evidence, the reviewed findings by Draschkow and colleagues [26] suggest that the activation of spatial priors might be the underlying cause and key ingredient to repeated search guidance and would be reflected in a prolonged first search compared to subsequent searches
We hypothesized that there would be an search initiation effect” (SIE) in the Control and Interruption condition since in both conditions spatial priors would need to be activated at the start of the search, while we expected no effect in the Preview condition since the activation process already happened during the preview and did not need to be re-activated upon subsequent searching
Summary
Imagine you are invited to your new colleague’s home to prepare dinner together. Even though you see this kitchen for the first time, you already have an idea about where to find the ingredients you need for the spaghetti with tomato sauce. Together with preliminary experimental evidence, the reviewed findings by Draschkow and colleagues [26] suggest that the activation of spatial priors might be the underlying cause and key ingredient to repeated search guidance and would be reflected in a prolonged first search compared to subsequent searches This idea is further supported by Li and colleagues [37] who compared repeated search behavior on a computer and in a virtual environment. The study presented here aimed to test the assumption that spatial prior activation causes an observable SIE, i.e., a substantial improvement in search time from the first to the second trial within the same scene. To this end, we conducted a repeated search study in a VR environment. We hypothesized that there would be an SIE in the Control and Interruption condition since in both conditions spatial priors would need to be activated at the start of the search, while we expected no effect in the Preview condition since the activation process already happened during the preview and did not need to be re-activated upon subsequent searching
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