Visual Attention Strategies Research Articles

Visual attention to own- versus other-race faces: Perspectives from learning mechanisms and task demands.

Multiple factors have been proposed to contribute to the other-race effect in face recognition, including perceptual expertise and social-cognitive accounts. Here, we propose to understand the effect and its contributing factors from the perspectives of learning mechanisms that involve joint learning of visual attention strategies and internal representations for faces, which can be modulated by quality of contact with other-race individuals including emotional and motivational factors. Computational simulations of this process will enhance our understanding of interactions among factors and help resolve inconsistent results in the literature. In particular, since learning is driven by task demands, visual attention effects observed in different face-processing tasks, such as passive viewing or recognition, are likely to be task specific (although may be associated) and should be examined and compared separately. When examining visual attention strategies, the use of more data-driven and comprehensive eye movement measures, taking both spatial-temporal pattern and consistency of eye movements into account, can lead to novel discoveries in other-race face processing. The proposed framework and analysis methods may be applied to other tasks of real-life significance such as face emotion recognition, further enhancing our understanding of the relationship between learning and visual cognition.

Social contact, own-group recognition bias and visual attention to faces.

The own-group recognition bias (OGRB) has been consistently linked to social contact in theoretical accounts. Indeed, social contact is assumed by most authors to underlie the perceptual expertise of out-groups' faces. However, little is known empirically about how it might impact face-processing strategies. We tested the proposition that social interaction would improve the face recognition performance of another group by modulating visual strategies for different face areas. In Experiment 1, we studied visual processes using an eye tracker during a person's first live encounter with a particular member of their own group (European) or an outgroup (African) to explore how increasing familiarity during a first interaction influences face-processing strategies. In Experiments 2 and 3, we explored the effect of simulated intergroup contact on face recognition accuracy, while simultaneously studying the impact of contact on visual attention strategies that occur during recognition (Experiment 2) and encoding (Experiment 3). The results showed a strong OGRB and a difference in visual processes based on the ethnic group of the targets. Although a single interaction is not sufficient to reduce the OGRB, familiarization during a live interaction (Experiment 1) and virtual social contact (Experiment 2) had an impact on the visual strategies employed.

Comparison of Visual Fixation Trajectories in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development: A Markov Chain Model.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition in which visual attention and visual search strategies are altered. Eye-tracking paradigms have been used to detect these changes. In our study, 18 toddlers with ASD and 18 toddlers with typical development (TD; age range 12–36 months) underwent an eye-tracking paradigm where a face was shown together with a series of objects. Eye gaze was coded according to three areas of interest (AOIs) indicating where the toddlers’ gaze was directed: ‘Face’, ‘Object’, and ‘No-stimulus fixation’. The fixation sequence for the ASD and TD groups was modelled with a Markov chain model, obtaining transition probabilities between AOIs. Our results indicate that the transition between AOIs could differentiate between toddlers with ASD or TD, highlighting different visual exploration patterns between the groups. The sequence of exploration is strictly conditioned based on previous fixations, among which ‘No-stimulus fixation’ has a critical role in differentiating the two groups. Furthermore, our analyses underline difficulties of individuals with ASD to engage in stimulus exploration. These results could improve clinical and interventional practice by considering this dimension among the evaluation process.

Age Differences in Visual Attention and Responses to Intergenerational and Non-intergenerational Workplace Conflicts.

Intergenerational conflict occurs commonly in the workplace because of age-related differences in work attitudes and values. This study aimed to advance the current literature on aging and work by examining whether younger and older workers differ in their visual attention, emotional responses, and conflict strategies when observing hypothetical conflict vignettes involving a coworker from a similar or dissimilar age group. The indirect effect of age group on emotional responses and conflict strategies through visual fixation on conflict scenes was also examined. Utilizing eye tracking, the visual attention of younger and older workers while watching two hypothetical workplace task conflict videos was recorded and compared. The participants were also asked to imagine how they would respond if they were the main actor in the vignettes. A total of 94 working adults, including 48 younger workers and 46 older workers, participated in the eye tracking experiment. Older workers reported fewer negative and more positive emotions than their younger counterparts after watching the conflict videos, particularly those on the non-intergenerational conflict. Younger workers used more dominating in the intergenerational conflict than in the non-intergenerational conflict; such discrepancy between conflict types was relatively small in older workers. Compared with younger workers, older workers fixated significantly less on the coworker during the intergenerational conflict scenes. A significant indirect effect of age group through visual fixation on the coworker was observed for positive emotions and avoiding. Results revealed that older workers may regulate their emotional reactions and conflict strategies to workplace conflicts by reducing their attention to negative stimuli.

Effects of an Unexpected and Expected Event on Older Adults' Autonomic Arousal and Eye Fixations During Autonomous Driving.

Driving cessation for some older adults can exacerbate physical, cognitive, and mental health challenges due to loss of independence and social isolation. Fully autonomous vehicles may offer an alternative transport solution, increasing social contact and encouraging independence. However, there are gaps in understanding the impact of older adults’ passive role on safe human–vehicle interaction, and on their well-being. 37 older adults (mean age ± SD = 68.35 ± 8.49 years) participated in an experiment where they experienced fully autonomous journeys consisting of a distinct stop (an unexpected event versus an expected event). The autonomous behavior of the vehicle was achieved using the Wizard of Oz approach. Subjective ratings of trust and reliability, and driver state monitoring including visual attention strategies (fixation duration and count) and physiological arousal (skin conductance and heart rate), were captured during the journeys. Results revealed that subjective trust and reliability ratings were high after journeys for both types of events. During an unexpected stop, overt visual attention was allocated toward the event, whereas during an expected stop, visual attention was directed toward the human–machine interface (HMI) and distributed across the central and peripheral driving environment. Elevated skin conductance level reflecting increased arousal persisted only after the unexpected event. These results suggest that safety-critical events occurring during passive fully automated driving may narrow visual attention and elevate arousal mechanisms. To improve in-vehicle user experience for older adults, a driver state monitoring system could examine such psychophysiological indices to evaluate functional state and well-being. This information could then be used to make informed decisions on vehicle behavior and offer reassurance during elevated arousal during unexpected events.

Coarse and Fine Visual Attention Strategies during a 3D Mental Rotation Task

Coarse and Fine Visual Attention Strategies during a 3D Mental Rotation Task

What do the Eyes Reveal? Visual Attention Strategies During Mental Rotation

What do the Eyes Reveal? Visual Attention Strategies During Mental Rotation

Out of sight, out of mind: Categorization learning and normal aging

The present combined EEG and eye tracking study examined the process of categorization learning at different age ranges and aimed to investigate to which degree categorization learning is mediated by visual attention and perceptual strategies. Seventeen young subjects and ten elderly subjects had to perform a visual categorization task with two abstract categories. Each category consisted of prototypical stimuli and an exception. The categorization of prototypical stimuli was learned very early during the experiment, while the learning of exceptions was delayed. The categorization of exceptions was accompanied by higher P150, P250 and P300 amplitudes. In contrast to younger subjects, elderly subjects had problems in the categorization of exceptions, but showed an intact categorization performance for prototypical stimuli. Moreover, elderly subjects showed higher fixation rates for important stimulus features and higher P150 amplitudes, which were positively correlated with the categorization performances. These results indicate that elderly subjects compensate for cognitive decline through enhanced perceptual and attentional processing of individual stimulus features. Additionally, a computational approach has been applied and showed a transition away from purely abstraction-based learning to an exemplar-based learning in the middle block for both groups. However, the calculated models provide a better fit for younger subjects than for elderly subjects. The current study demonstrates that human categorization learning is based on early abstraction-based processing followed by an exemplar-memorization stage. This strategy combination facilitates the learning of real world categories with a nuanced category structure. In addition, the present study suggests that categorization learning is affected by normal aging and modulated by perceptual processing and visual attention.

Quantifying external focus of attention in sailing by means of action sport cameras

ABSTRACTThe aim of the current study was twofold: (1) to validate the use of action sport cameras for quantifying focus of visual attention in sailing and (2) to apply this method to examine whether an external focus of attention is associated with better performance in upwind sailing. To test the validity of this novel quantification method, we first calculated the agreement between gaze location measures and head orientation measures in 13 sailors sailing upwind during training regattas using a head mounted eye tracker. The results confirmed that for measuring visual focus of attention in upwind sailing, the agreement for the two measures was high (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.97) and the 95% limits of agreement were acceptable (between −8.0% and 14.6%). In a next step, we quantified the focus of visual attention in sailing upwind as fast as possible by means of an action sport camera. We captured sailing performance, operationalised as boat speed in the direction of the wind, and environmental conditions using a GPS, compass and wind meter. Four trials, each lasting 1 min, were analysed for 15 sailors each, resulting in a total of 30 upwind speed trials on port tack and 30 upwind speed trials on starboard tack. The results revealed that in sailing – within constantly changing environments – the focus of attention is not a significant predictor for better upwind sailing performances. This implicates that neither external nor internal foci of attention was per se correlated with better performances. Rather, relatively large interindividual differences seem to indicate that different visual attention strategies can lead to similar performance outcomes.

Searching in clutter: Visual attention strategies of expert pilots

Clutter can slow visual search. However, experts may develop attention strategies that alleviate the effects of clutter on search performance. In the current study we examined the effects of global and local clutter on visual search performance and attention strategies. Pilots and undergraduates searched for an elevation marker in charts of high, medium, and low global clutter. The target was in a low or high local clutter region of the chart or it was absent. High global and local clutter slowed search performance for both pilots and undergraduates. Pilots were more accurate but slower. Pilots’ search strategies differed from undergraduates in the following ways: they had more conservative criteria for responding target absent and spent more time processing the information within each fixation. Pilots and undergraduates used a coarse-to-fine search strategy in which, as the trial progressed, fixation durations increased and saccade distance decreased.

Expertise-dependent visual attention strategies develop over time during debugging with multiple code representations

In modern multi-representational environments, software developers need to coordinate various information sources to effectively perform maintenance tasks. Although visual attention is an important skill in software development, our current understanding of the role of visual attention in the coordination of representations during maintenance tasks is minimal. Therefore, we applied eye-tracking to capture visual attention strategies and construct a detailed account of visual attention during debugging. Two groups of programmers with two distinct levels of experience debugged a program with the help of multiple representations. The proportion of time spent looking at each representation, the frequency of switching attention between visualrepresentations and the type of switch were investigated during consecutive phases of debugging. We found repetitive patterns in visual strategies that were associated with less expertise and lower performance. Novice developers made use of both the code and graphical representations while frequently switching between them. More experienced participants expended more efforts integrating the available information and primarily concentrated on systematically relating the code to the output. Our results informed us about the differences in program debugging strategies from a fine-grain, temporal perspective and have implications for the design of future development environments.

Orientation Strategies in Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery

The aims of this study were to (1) describe the visual attention strategies employed by surgeons that are associated with high performance in reorientation and (2) identify key structures guiding attention deployment of the surgeon in the process of self-orientation in common clinical natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) scenarios. Disorientation has been identified as one of the major barriers to be overcome before widespread clinical NOTES uptake. Understanding disorientation requires description of key perceptual-motor factors leading to disorientation, assessment of their relative impact, and quantification of navigation performance. Twenty-one surgeons were shown a series of 8 images acquired during human NOTES operations from the flexible endoscope from different perspectives to induce disorientation. Gaze behavior was recorded using an eye tracker as the subjects were asked to establish the image orientation. Main outcome measures were times taken to establish orientation, eye-tracking parameters, and fixation sequences on organs and structures/regions of interest (ROI). High-performance subjects had a lower number of fixations and normalized dwell time per ROI compared with others, suggesting a more structured and focused approach to orientation. Orientation strategies associated with high performance were described using a validated algorithm for comparing visual reorientation behavior and amount of visual attention on individual ROIs in each scenario were quantified. Key areas of organs and structures during reorientation were illustrated using dwell time normalized visual maps. Targeted orientation strategies revealed in this study are expected to aid in decreasing the learning curve associated with NOTES and increase performance even for experienced surgeons and gastroenterologists. Crucially, these data can provide guidance for designing orientation friendly NOTES platforms.

Evaluation of Orientation Strategies in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Using eye-tracking technology, we aim to examine if there are common patterns of visual attention strategies employed by surgeons which are associated with a greater chance of successful reorientation when disorientated during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is one of the most commonly practiced and minimally invasive procedures with a recognized morbidity relating to bile duct injuries. It has been suggested that the majority of bile duct injuries occur as a result of operator disorientation. A total of 21 surgeons of varying experience participated in the study. Attention as represented by gaze was captured, as subjects were presented with 8 images of various stages of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy with the task of interpreting the orientation of the image. Subject fixations on relevant anatomic structures within the images were analyzed and a visual behavior profiling algorithm was applied to compare the behavior of individual surgeons. No difference in orientation performance between seniority levels or with laparoscopic experience was found. Key structures used as "anchor objects" to successfully orientate at various stages of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy were unveiled, and a representative successful visual attention behavior for each stage of the operation was described. There are discernable and quantifiable visual attention strategies used by surgeons during laparoscopic cholecystectomy associated with successful orientation. By quantifying visual behavior and by inference attention processes of surgeons, this study represents an initial step in attempting to decrease the morbidity associated with disorientation. This study raises some important questions. First, can these common reorientation strategies be taught to aspiring surgeons as part of a curriculum thereby decreasing the learning curve associated with the apparent need for experience in laparoscopy? Second, can these common reorientation strategies be taught to those surgeons who consistently performed below average to increase their performance?

Dynamic Evaluation Tree for Presenting Expression Evaluations Visually

Novice programmers have difficulties with their visual attention strategies when following program visualizations. This article presents work in progress on improving the user interfaces of visualization tools to support students in the visual attention problems. We introduce a user interface solution called the dynamic evaluation tree. The basic idea is to reduce the amount of separate windows of the user interface and thus make it possible to concentrate the visual attention more in one part of the screen.

Uses of Eye Tracking Technology in Design

Eye tracking technology has caught the attention of designers who wish to better understand how users visually interact with products and technologies. Given the availability of eye tracking technologies, which are able to measure users' eye gaze on computer screens, designers and researchers can employ eye tracking to answer a very wide variety of questions about users' visual behavior, cognition, and visual attention strategies. Yet, commercial eye tracking software typically provides a limited number of out-of-the-box analysis tools for understanding the massive amount of data generated during eye tracking sessions. This poster (1) surveys the range of questions that people have successfully asked using eye tracking technology and (2) summarizes how raw eye tracking data is transformed into higher-level constructs that are more appropriate for analysis and the kinds of analysis that can be performed. The goal of this poster is to help designers make more informed decisions when considering the use of eye tracking to aid them in design.

Classroom Interpreting and Visual Information Processing in Mainstream Education for Deaf Students: Live or Memorex?

This study examined visual information processing and learning in classrooms including both deaf and hearing students. Of particular interest were the effects on deaf students' learning of live (three-dimensional) versus video-recorded (two-dimensional) sign language interpreting and the visual attention strategies of more and less experienced deaf signers exposed to simultaneous, multiple sources of visual information. Results from three experiments consistently indicated no differences in learning between three-dimensional and two-dimensional presentations among hearing or deaf students. Analyses of students' allocation of visual attention and the influence of various demographic and experimental variables suggested considerable flexibility in deaf students' receptive communication skills. Nevertheless, the findings also revealed a robust advantage in learning in favor of hearing students.