Abstract
The dynamic nature of the real world poses challenges for predicting where best to allocate gaze during object interactions. The same object may require different visual guidance depending on its current or upcoming state. Here, we explore how object properties (the material and shape of objects) and object state (whether it is full of liquid, or to be set down in a crowded location) influence visual supervision while setting objects down, which is an element of object interaction that has been relatively neglected in the literature. In a liquid pouring task, we asked participants to move empty glasses to a filling station; to leave them empty, half fill, or completely fill them with water; and then move them again to a tray. During the first putdown (when the glasses were all empty), visual guidance was determined only by the type of glass being set down—with more unwieldy champagne flutes being more likely to be guided than other types of glasses. However, when the glasses were then filled, glass type no longer mattered, with the material and fill level predicting whether the glasses were set down with visual supervision: full, glass material containers were more likely to be guided than empty, plastic ones. The key finding from this research is that the visual system responds flexibly to dynamic changes in object properties, likely based on predictions of risk associated with setting-down the object unsupervised by vision. The factors that govern these mechanisms can vary within the same object as it changes state.
Highlights
Accomplishing active tasks in natural environments requires human vision to be directed to appropriate areas in the environment at the time when important information is available, or is about to be available
The way we visually behave when setting down an object after a manipulation has received little attention in the study of vision and eye movements, yet at this juncture in a task, the visual behavior performed carries over consequences for the action in a sequential task, in terms of at which point the eyes are free to fixate on the object to be manipulated
Following on from initial observations in natural tasks that a significant proportion of these putdown actions are performed without visual guidance [24], we attempted to examine what it is about certain objects that may make them the subject of guidance during putdown or not
Summary
Accomplishing active tasks in natural environments requires human vision to be directed to appropriate areas in the environment at the time when important information is available, or is about to be available. Land and Hayhoe [24] speculated that the difference in prevalence of guided put-downs between their tea-making and sandwich-making studies came from the fact that participants making sandwiches were seated with all objects within reach, whereas participants had to walk around the kitchen to make teas; with the latter providing much less certainty of the locations of surfaces and objects relative to the participant, and having a greater need to visually guide object put-downs and less opportunity to use learning and familiarity with the immediate surroundings to reduce the need for visual guidance during putdowns This raises the possibility that the area in which the object is being set down in may too have an influence, if there are other objects present in the space (as is often the case in real life), which essentially present obstacles to avoid. We hypothesize that the properties of the objects, both the inherent qualities and the changed states, and the area the object is to be set down in will produce differences in the level of visual guidance employed during the setting down of an object
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
