Visual attention

Virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMD) appear to be effective research tools,
which may address the problem of ecological validity in neuropsychological testing.
However, their widespread implementation is hindered by VR induced symptoms
and effects (VRISE) and the lack of skills in VR software development. This study
offers guidelines for the development of VR software in cognitive neuroscience and
neuropsychology, by describing and discussing the stages of the development of Virtual
Reality Everyday Assessment Lab (VR-EAL), the first neuropsychological battery in
immersive VR. Techniques for evaluating cognitive functions within a realistic storyline
are discussed. The utility of various assets in Unity, software development kits, and other
software are described so that cognitive scientists can overcome challenges pertinent
to VRISE and the quality of the VR software. In addition, this pilot study attempts to
evaluate VR-EAL in accordance with the necessary criteria for VR software for research
purposes. The VR neuroscience questionnaire (VRNQ; Kourtesis et al., 2019b) was
implemented to appraise the quality of the three versions of VR-EAL in terms of user
experience, game mechanics, in-game assistance, and VRISE. Twenty-five participants
aged between 20 and 45 years with 12–16 years of full-time education evaluated various
versions of VR-EAL. The final version of VR-EAL achieved high scores in every sub-score
of the VRNQ and exceeded its parsimonious cut-offs. It also appeared to have better
in-game assistance and game mechanics, while its improved graphics substantially increased the quality of the user experience and almost eradicated VRISE. The results
substantially support the feasibility of the development of effective VR research and
clinical software without the presence of VRISE during a 60-min VR session.

This paper describes the use of visual attention charac- teristics, monitored by gaze tracking during presentation of a known visual scene to a viewer, as a biometric for dis- tinguishing between individual viewers. The positions and sequences of gaze locations during viewing may be deter- mined by overt (conscious) or covert (sub-conscious) view- ing behaviour. Methods to quantify the spatial

distractors. According to Pylyshyn’s account, tracking uses a preattentive mechanism called a Visual Index (or FINST). Several people have challenged the assumption that MOT is preattentive. Treisman (1993) showed that a simultaneous task of monitoring color changes at the screen border results in poorer performance on both tasks. We hypothesize that a task that involves indexing an additional visual object (e.g., the border) may interfere with tracking, but that a task that involves an already-indexed object might not. Subjects performed a MOT task with 4 targets as well as a simultaneous task involving monitoring the occurrence of a specific color change at one of four locations: on a target, non-target, border, and fixation. Both tracking and monitoring performance were recorded. The results showed that tracking was not significantly affected by the monitoring task regardless of its location (although the trend was in the expected direction, with the best performance occurring when the monitored change was on the target and the worst when on the border). There were, however, significant differences in reaction times to the secondary monitoring task, as well as differences in the frequency with which the monitored events was missed. The longest RT occurred when the change was at fixation and the shortest when it was on the border. Perhaps even more surprising was the consistent finding that the frequency with which the monitored event was missed was very much higher when it occurred on a target. An attempt is made to reconcile these findings with the general assumption that MOT requires attention. Among the relevant factors that are considered is the difficulty of the tracking task and the possible role of inattentional blindness and nontarget inhibition.

Purpose: The seductive detail effect (SDE) occurs when irrelevant text or images reduce learning of important content. Well established with adults, the SDE also affects children, who may be especially susceptible as they are increasingly surrounded by images meant to engage rather than inform. As research on the SDE in children is just beginning, the mechanisms are unknown. This review aims to propose a principled basis teachers can use to determine whether visuals will help or distract a given child.

Method: This narrative review of studies, identified through computerized database search, summarizes the evidence that working memory load and attention capture underlie the SDE. We propose a mechanistic model of the SDE in adults, argue that it applies to children, and recommend methods for testing this hypothesis.

Conclusions: We predict that children with lower working memory and attention will be more susceptible to the SDE. Such children may be typically developing or have diagnosed conditions, such as learning disabilities (LD), developmental language disorder (DLD), attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). With our model, informed by sufficiently precise data, we can predict from a student's working memory and attention scores how much they will benefit from eliminating extraneous visuals. Such information would help teachers and professionals provide individualized, accessible learning materials.

The main mechanism of market economy competition has forced organizations to search factors influencing advertising effectiveness. Relying on the crucially important. First visual impressions do often influence mid-and long-term human behavior and are influenced by factors such as context or visual complexity. The aim of this research is to determine the effect of visual layout processing an advertisement as well as evaluation and classification time of the advertisement regarding different levels of visual layout complexity. To reach the aim of the article, P300 event-related brain potential is recorded and analyzed. In the context of visual complexity of advertising, recording and analysis of P300 component reveal whether high visual advertising complexity leads to more attentional resources engaged in processing an advertisement as well as whether advertisement with high visual complexity is evaluated and classified slower. Moreover, questionnaire research is provided for the participants in order to assess the differences in attitudes towards the brands advertised with different layout complexity levels. As a research results, the effect of visual advertising complexity on cognitive processes such as attention allocation and its influence on the attitude toward the object is revealed and the managerial implications for creating effective advertising are provided.

Perception and attention mechanisms are of great importance for entities situated within complex dynamic environments. With roles extending greatly beyond passive information services about the external environment, such mechanisms actively prioritise, augment and expedite information to ensure that the potentially relevant is made available so appropriate action can take place. Here, we describe the rationale behind endowing artificial entities, or virtual agents, with real-time perception and attention systems. We cover the fundamentals of designing and building such systems. Once equipped, the resulting agents can achieve a more substantial connection with their environment for the purposes of reacting, planning, decision making and, ultimately, behaving.

This article presents two studies that deepen the theme of how soundtracks shape our interpretation of audiovisuals. Embracing a multivariate perspective, Study 1 (N = 118) demonstrated, through an online between-subjects experiment, that two different music scores (melancholic vs. anxious) deeply affected the interpretations of an unknown movie scene in terms of empathy felt toward the main character, impressions of his personality, plot anticipations, and perception of the environment of the scene. With the melancholic music, participants felt empathy toward the character, viewing him as more agreeable and introverted, more oriented to memories than to decisions, while perceiving the environment as cozier. An almost opposite pattern emerged with the anxious music. In Study 2 (N = 92), we replicated the experiment in our lab but with the addition of eye-tracking and pupillometric measurements. Results of Study 1 were largely replicated; moreover, we proved that the anxious score, by increasing the participants' vigilance and state of alert (wider pupil dilation), favored greater attention to minor details, as in the case of another character who was very hard to be noticed (more time spent on his figure). Results highlight the pervasive nature of the influence of music within the process of interpretation of visual scenes.

As media usage continues to increase on a global scale, fueled by the proliferation of mobile devices, this facilitates the effortless behavior of mediamultitasking. This paradigm shift in the way in which media is consumed presents fundamental challenges for the domains of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), education, psychology, and commerce. This technological shift introduces a new dimension that is needed when attempting to understand user interaction related to both the devices themselves andthe digital platforms accessed. This study begins a process of developing an understanding of cross-cultural media multitasking habits through a survey of a large group of experimental participants. In this study, participants from two different countries were surveyed. The countries used in this study were the USA and Portugal. This research provides valuable insights into theincreasingly common phenomenon of media multitasking and the similarities and differences between cultures when users are engaging in this activity. This study contributes to previous research in the realm of media multitasking by expanding on foundational knowledge on a global scale setting the stage for more detailed research on predictors, outcomes, and habits of global media multitasking.

Football penalty kicks are having increasing influence in today’s professional game. Despite this, little scientific evidence currently exists to ascertain the mechanisms behind performance failure in this task and/or the efficacy of training designed to improve penalty shooting. In a football penalty kick it has been reported that the majority of kickers do not look to the area they wish to place the ball; preferring to focus on the ‘keeper and predict anticipatory movements before shooting. Such a strategy seems counterproductive and contradictory to current research findings regarding visually guided aiming. Coordination of eye and limb movements has been shown to be essential for the production of accurate motor responses. A disruption to this coordination not only seems to negatively affect performance, but subsequent motor responses seem to follow direction of gaze. Thus, where the eyes lead actions tend to follow. In study 1, ten participants were asked to kick a standard sized football to alternate corners of a goal, whilst looking centrally and whilst looking where they intended to hit. This disruption of eye-limb coordination brought about a 15% reduction in kicking accuracy. When participants were asked to fixate centrally, their shots hit more centrally (17cm) than when they were allowed to look where they intended to hit. These results were in spite of no significant differences between the number of missed shots, preparation time and ball speed data across conditions. We concluded that centrally focused fixations dragged resultant motor actions inwards towards more central target locations. Put simply, where the eyes looked shots tended to follow. The second study sought to test the predictions of attentional control theory (ACT) in a sporting environment in order to establish how anxiety affects performance in penalty kicks. Fourteen experienced footballers took penalty kicks under low- and high-threat counterbalanced conditions while wearing a gaze registration system. Fixations to target locations (goalkeeper and goal area) were determined using frame-by-frame analysis. When anxious, footballers made faster first fixations and fixated for significantly longer toward the goalkeeper. This disruption in gaze behaviour brought about significant reductions in shooting accuracy, with shots becoming significantly centralized and within the goalkeeper’s reach. These findings support the predictions of ACT, as anxious participants were more likely to focus on the “threatening” goalkeeper, owing to an increased influence of the stimulus-driven attentional control system. A further prediction of ACT is that when anxious, performers are more likely to be distracted, particularly if the distracter is threat related. When facing penalty kicks in football (soccer), goalkeepers frequently incorporate strategies that are designed to distract the kicker. However, no direct empirical evidence exists to ascertain what effect such visual distractions have on the attentional control, and performance, of footballers. In the third study, eighteen experienced footballers took five penalty kicks under counterbalanced conditions of threat (low vs. high) and goalkeeper movement (stationary vs. waving arms) while wearing eye-tracking equipment. Results suggested that participants were more distracted by a moving goalkeeper than a stationary one and struggled to disengage from a moving goalkeeper under situations of high threat. Significantly more penalties were saved on trials when the goalkeeper was moving and shots were also generally hit closer to the goalkeeper (centrally) on these trials. The results provide partial support for the predictions of attentional control theory and implications for kickers and goalkeepers are discussed. The previous studies showed that anxiety can disrupt visual attention, visuomotor control and subsequent shot location in penalty kicks. However, optimal visual attention has been trained in other far aiming skills, improving performance and resistance to pressure. In study 4, we therefore asked a team of ten university soccer players to follow a quiet eye (QE; Vickers, 1996) training program, designed to align gaze with aiming intention to optimal scoring zones, over a seven week period. Performance and gaze parameters were compared to a placebo group (ten players) who received no instruction, but practiced the same number of penalty kicks over the same time frame. Results from a retention test indicated that the QE trained group had more effective visual attentional control; were significantly more accurate; and had 50% fewer shots saved by the goalkeeper than the placebo group. Both groups then competed in a penalty shootout to explore the influence of anxiety on attentional control and shooting accuracy. Under the pressure of the shootout the QE trained group failed to maintain their accuracy advantage, despite maintaining more distal aiming fixations of longer duration. The results therefore provide only partial support for the effectiveness of brief QE training interventions for experienced performers. This series of studies are the first to explore the gaze behaviour of football penalty takers in a quest to uncover and understand anxiety’s negative influence on attentional control and performance. They are also the first to explore the efficacy of goalkeeper distractions and training in improving performance from both the goalkeeper’s and kicker’s perspective. The results of these studies conclude that when anxious, penalty takers show an attentional bias toward the ‘threatening’ goalkeeper that can be increased and utilised by a goalkeeper employing distraction techniques and that penalty takers do benefit, to some extent, from a gaze-based pre-shot routine