Abstract
Whether fixation selection in real-world scenes is guided by image salience or by objects has been a matter of scientific debate. To contrast the two views, we compared effects of location-based and object-based visual salience in young and older (65 + years) adults. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess the unique contribution of salience to fixation selection in scenes. When analysing fixation guidance without recurrence to objects, visual salience predicted whether image patches were fixated or not. This effect was reduced for the elderly, replicating an earlier finding. When using objects as the unit of analysis, we found that highly salient objects were more frequently selected for fixation than objects with low visual salience. Interestingly, this effect was larger for older adults. We also analysed where viewers fixate within objects, once they are selected. A preferred viewing location close to the centre of the object was found for both age groups. The results support the view that objects are important units of saccadic selection. Reconciling the salience view with the object view, we suggest that visual salience contributes to prioritization among objects. Moreover, the data point towards an increasing relevance of object-bound information with increasing age.
Highlights
Whether fixation selection in real-world scenes is guided by image salience or by objects has been a matter of scientific debate
Which factors guide where we direct our attention and gaze when viewing a naturalistic scene? In recent years, this question has sparked a scientific debate about whether fixation selection is based on image properties such as visual salience or information about objects within the scene
The object view is supported by experimental and modelling results, a critical question remains: once the objects are available for selection, how do observers decide which object, out of several candidate objects, to select for fixation? In previous research, we have argued that object-based visual salience contributes to such prioritization among objects[19]
Summary
Whether fixation selection in real-world scenes is guided by image salience or by objects has been a matter of scientific debate. When using objects as the unit of analysis, we found that highly salient objects were more frequently selected for fixation than objects with low visual salience This effect was larger for older adults. This question has sparked a scientific debate about whether fixation selection is based on image properties such as visual salience (hereafter: salience view) or information about objects within the scene (hereafter: object view). We attempt to reconcile the two views by comparing effects of location-based and object-based visual salience, utilizing statistical analyses that allow for assessing the unique contribution of salience to fixation selection in scenes. According to the object view, salience does not guide fixation selection directly but through a correlation between salient locations and objects. The original saliency map[2,16] has little additional predictive power for Scientific Reports | (2020) 10:22057
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