ERIC Number: EJ734788
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Oct
Pages: 12
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0096-1523
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Prioritization of New Objects in Real-World Scenes: Evidence from Eye Movements
Brockmole, James R.; Henderson, John M.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, v31 n5 p857-868 Oct 2005
The authors examined the prioritization of abruptly appearing objects in real-world scenes by measuring the eyes' propensity to be directed to the new object. New objects were fixated more often than chance whether they appeared during fixations (transient onsets) or saccades (nontransient onsets). However, onsets that appeared during fixations were fixated sooner and more often than those coincident with saccades. Prioritization of onsets during saccades, but not fixations, were affected by manipulations of memory: Reducing scene viewing time prior to the onset eliminated prioritization, whereas prior study of the scenes increased prioritization. Transient objects draw attention quickly and do not depend on memory, but without a transient signal, new objects are prioritized over several saccades as memory is used to explicitly identify the change. These effects were not modulated by observers' expectations concerning the appearance of new objects, suggesting the prioritization of a transient is automatic and that memory-guided prioritization is implicit.
Descriptors: Eye Movements, Memory, Object Manipulation, Psychomotor Skills, Perceptual Motor Coordination, Reaction Time, Spatial Ability, Attention, Needs Assessment, Serial Ordering
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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