Eye movements and attention in visual feature search with graded target-distractor-similarity

We conducted a visual feature search experiment in which we varied the target-distractor-similarity in four steps, the number of items (4, 6, and 8), and the presence of the target. In addition to classical search parameters like error rate and reaction time (RT), we analyzed saccade amplitudes, fixation durations, and the portion of reinspections (recurred fixation on an item with at least one different item fixated in between) and refixations (recurred fixation on an item without a different item fixated in between) per trial. When target-distractor-similarity was increased, more errors and longer RTs were observed, accompa-nied by shorter saccade amplitudes, longer fixation durations, and more reinspec-tions/refixations. An increasing set size resulted in longer saccade amplitudes and shorter fixation durations. Finally, in target absent trials we observed more reinspections than refixations, whereas in target present trials refixations were more frequent than reinspec-tions. The results on saccade amplitude and fixation duration support saliency-based search theo-ries that assume an attentional focus variable in size according to task demands and a vari-able attentional dwell time. Reinspections and refixations seem to be rather a sign of in-complete perceptual processing of items than being due to memory failure

How to Enable Sovereign Human-AI Interactions at Work? Concepts of Graspable Testbeds Empowering People to Understand and Competently Use AI-Systems

Artificial intelligence (AI) strategies are exhibiting a shift of perspectives, focusing more intensively on a more human-centric view. New conceptualizations of AI literacy (AIL) are being presented, summarizing the competencies human users need to successfully interact with AI-based systems. However, these conceptualizations lack practical relevance. In view of the rapid pace of technological development, this contribution addresses the urgent need to bridge the gap between theoretical concepts of AIL and practical requirements of working environments. It transfers current conceptualizations and new principles of a more human-centered perspective on AI into professional working environments. From a psychological perspective, the project focuses on emotional-motivational, eudaimonic, and social aspects. Methodologically, the project presented develops AI testbeds in virtual reality to realize literally graspable interactions with AI-based technologies in the actual work environment. Overall, the project aims to increase the competencies and the willingness to successfully master the challenges of the digitalized world of work

Higher-Order DeepTrails: Unified Approach to *Trails

Analyzing, understanding, and describing human behavior is advantageous in different settings, such as web browsing or traffic navigation. Understanding human behavior naturally helps to improve and optimize the underlying infrastructure or user interfaces. Typically, human navigation is represented by sequences of transitions between states. Previous work suggests to use hypotheses, representing different intuitions about the navigation to analyze these transitions. To mathematically grasp this setting, first-order Markov chains are used to capture the behavior, consequently allowing to apply different kinds of graph comparisons, but comes with the inherent drawback of losing information about higher-order dependencies within the sequences. To this end, we propose to analyze entire sequences using autoregressive language models, as they are traditionally used to model higher-order dependencies in sequences. We show that our approach can be easily adapted to model different settings introduced in previous work, namely HypTrails, MixedTrails and even SubTrails, while at the same time bringing unique advantages: 1. Modeling higher-order dependencies between state transitions, while 2. being able to identify short comings in proposed hypotheses, and 3. naturally introducing a unified approach to model all settings. To show the expressiveness of our approach, we evaluate our approach on different synthetic datasets and conclude with an exemplary analysis of a real-world dataset, examining the behavior of users who interact with voice assistants

An Update on the Virtual Mission Control Room

In 2021 we presented the Virtual Mission Control Room (VMCR) on the verge from fun educational project to testing ground for remote cooperative mission control. Since then, we successfully participated in ESA\u27s 2022 campaign New ideas to make XR a reality , which granted us additional funding to improve the VMCR software and conduct usability testing in cooperation with the chair of human-computer-interaction. In this paper and the corresponding poster session we give an update on the current state of the project, the new features and project structure. We explain the changes suggested by early test users and ESA to make operators feel more at home in the virtual environment. Subsequently, our project partners present their first suggestions for improvements to the VMCR as well as their plans for user testing. We conclude with lessons learned and and a look ahead into our plans for the future of the project

Virtual Reality in Modern English Teaching and its Potential for Inter- and Transcultural Learning

Der Aufbau von inter- und transkulturellen Kompetenzen im modernen Englischunterricht verlangt nach authentischen, kulturübergreifenden Begegnungs- und Kommunikationssituationen. Virtual Reality (VR) als Ort der Partizipation und Konstruktion kann dem Erwerb kultureller Kompetenzen zentrale Vorteile bieten, die die physischen Grenzen des Klassenzimmers auflösen und Lernende weltweit in authentische Kommunikationssituationen mit Lernenden treten lassen. Als Teil des Forschungsinteresses soll dabei untersucht werden, inwiefern Avatare, Kontexte und virtuelle Objekte Initiatoren und Begleiter kultureller Lernprozesse sein können. Für den Forschungsfokus auf virtuelle Objekte wurde eigens das InteractionSuitcase entwickelt, eine Sammlung virtueller Objekte, die unterschiedliche Stereotypisierungsgrade aufweisen und von Lernenden in der Kommunikationssituation genutzt werden können. Aufbauend auf dieser Entwicklung wurde ein universitäres Seminarkonzept entwickelt, in dem die Studierenden handlungs- und produktorientiert Unterrichtskonzepte für den Einsatz von VR im Fremdsprachenunterricht entwerfen. Ziel dieses Beitrages ist, die Entwicklung der VR-Welt und des Seminarkonzeptes vor dem Hintergrund medien- und kulturdidaktischer sowie empirischer Überlegungen vorzustellen (1) und anschliessend über die Ergebnisse der empirischen Begleitforschung zu berichten (2).Fostering inter- and transcultural competencies in modern foreign language teaching requires authentic, cross-cultural communication and collaboration. Virtual reality (VR) as a tool for participation and co-construction can offer key advantages to these learning processes, dissolving the physical boundaries of the classroom and allowing learners to engage in authentic communication activities with learners worldwide. As part of the research interest, the extent to which avatars, contexts and virtual objects can be initiators and facilitators of cultural learning processes will be explored. For the research focus on virtual objects, we developed the InteractionSuitcase, a collection of virtual objects that have different degrees of stereotyping and can be used by learners as initiators for communication. Based on this development, a university seminar concept was developed, in which students design action- and product-oriented teaching concepts integrating VR in foreign language teaching. The goal of this paper is to present the development of the VR environment and the seminar concept considering media- and cultural didactics as well as empirical considerations (1) and then to report on the results of the accompanying empirical research (2)

Left-handers look before they leap:handedness influences reactivity to novel Tower of Hanoi tasks

A sample of 203 task naïve left- and right-handed participants were asked to complete a combination of the 3- and 4-disk Towers of Hanoi (ToH), manipulating novelty and complexity. Self-reported state anxiety and latency to respond (initiation time) were recorded before each ToH. Novelty had a major effect on initiation time, particularly for left-handers. Left-handers had a longer latency to start and this was significantly longer on the first trial. Irrespective of hand-preference, initiation time reduced on the second trial, however, this was greatest for left-handers. Condition of task did not systematically influence initiation time for right handers, but did for left-handers. State anxiety was influenced by task novelty and complexity in a more complicated way. During the first trial, there was a significant handedness × number of disks interaction with left-handers having significantly higher state anxiety levels before the 3-disk ToH. This suggests that the initial reaction to this task for left-handers was not simply due to perceived difficulty. On their second trial, participants completing a novel ToH had higher state anxiety scores than those completing a repeated version. Overall, left-handers had a larger reduction in their state anxiety across trials. Relating to this, the expected strong positive correlation between state and trait anxiety was absent for left-handed females in their first tower presentation, but appeared on their second. This was driven by low trait anxiety individuals showing a higher state anxiety response in the first (novel) trial, supporting the idea that left-handed females respond to novelty in a way that is not directly a consequence of their trait anxiety. A possible explanation may be stereotype threat influencing the behavior of left-handed females