The flexible focus: Whether spatial attention is unitary or divided depends on observer goals

The distribution of visual attention has been the topic of much investigation, and various theories have posited that attention is allocated either as a single unitary focus or as multiple independent foci. In the present experiment, we demonstrate that attention can be flexibly deployed as either a unitary or a divided focus in the same experimental task, depending on the observer’s goals. To assess the distribution of attention, we used a dual-stream Attentional Blink (AB) paradigm and 2 target pairs. One component of the AB, Lag-1 sparing, occurs only if the second target pair appears within the focus of attention. By varying whether the first-target-pair could be expected in a predictable location (always in-stream) or not (unpredictably in-stream or between-streams), observers were encouraged to deploy a divided or a unitary focus, respectively. When the second-target-pair appeared between the streams, Lag-1 sparing occurred for the Unpredictable group (consistent with a unitary focus) but not for the Predictable group (consistent with a divided focus). Thus, diametrically different outcomes occurred for physically identical displays, depending on the expectations of the observer about where spatial attention would be required

Perception and Painting: a Search for Effective, Engaging Visualizations

Scientific visualization represents information as images that allow us to explore, discover, analyze, and validate large collections of data. Much of the research in this area is dedicated to the design of effective visualizations that support specific analysis needs. Recently, we have become interested in a new idea: Is a visualization beautiful? Can a visualization be considered a work of art? One might expect answers to these questions to vary widely depending on the individual and their interpretation of what it means to be artistic. We believe that the issues of effectiveness and aesthetics may not be as independent as they might seem at first glance, however. Much can be learned from a study of two related disciplines: human psychophysics, and art theory and history. Perception teaches us how we “see” the world around us. Art history shows us how artistic masters captured our attention by designing works that evoke an emotional response. The common interest in visual attention provides an important bridge between these domains. We are using this bridge to produce visualizations that are both effective and engaging. This article describes our research, and discusses some of the lessons we have learned along the way.

Emotional valence and arousal interact in attentional control

A recent study demonstrated that observers' ability to identify targets in a rapid visual sequence was enhanced when they simultaneously listened to happy music. In the study reported here, we examined how the emotion-attention relationship is influenced by changes in both mood valence (negative vs. positive) and arousal (low vs. high). We used a standard induction procedure to generate calm, happy, sad, and anxious moods in participants. Results for an attentional blink task showed no differences in first-target accuracy, but second-target accuracy was highest for participants with low arousal and negative affect (sad), lowest for those with strong arousal and negative affect (anxious), and intermediate for those with positive affect regardless of their arousal (calm, happy). We discuss implications of this valence-arousal interaction for the control of visual attention

The interaction between stimulus-driven and goal-driven orienting as revealed by eye movements

It is generally agreed that attention can be captured in a stimulus-driven or in a goal-driven fashion. In studies that investigated both types of capture, the effects on mean manual response time (reaction time [RT]) are generally additive, suggesting two independent underlying processes. However, potential interactions between the two types of capture may fail to be expressed in manual RT, as it likely reflects multiple processing steps. Here we measured saccadic eye movements along with manual responses. Participants searched a target display for a red letter. To assess contingent capture, this display was preceded by an irrelevant red cue. To assess stimulus-driven capture, the target display could be accompanied by the simultaneous onset of an irrelevant new object. At the level of eye movements, the results showed strong interactions between cue validity and onset presence on the spatiotemporal trajectories of the saccades. However, at the level of manual responses, these effects cancelled out, leading to additive effects on mean RT. We conclude that both types of capture influence a shared spatial orienting mechanism and we provide a descriptive computational model of their dynamics. © 2013 American Psychological Association