MOT Capacity is Compromised in Ecological 3D Environments

Abstract

Multiple object tracking (MOT) has been used extensively in studies on visual attention and working memory in a dynamic environment. However, the majority of findings of MOT research have been collected using two dimensional (2D) displays. Given the lack of ecological connection between 2D MOT displays and 3D real-world visual scenes, the current study aims to investigate the effect of 3D depth information on tracking multiple moving objects in 3D environments. Specifically, the MOT displays were generated in a way to simulate different viewing positions from an observer’s perspective. In the first experiment the stimulus was manipulated to simulate 4 viewing angles, 30°, 50°, 70°, and 90°. No significant effect was found for the changes in viewing angle. This could be due to that fact that, even for the shallowest viewing angle - 30°, it’s still unrealistically too steep for most real-world tasks. Thus, in experiment 2 we examined a shallower angle of 15° in the MOT task, which is more similar to a viewing angle that an individual may experience in watching/playing sports such as soccer or driving a vehicle. With this more ecological manipulation we found significant decrements in tracking capacity under 15° as compared to 90° viewing angle conditions. Consistent with previous research, it was also found in both experiments that the MOT tracking capacity significantly decreased with increased target number. The results suggest that the current 3D MOT program could be a better indicator of cognitive capacities in 3D real-world conditions. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015