You detect while I search: examining visual search efficiency in a joint search task

Numerous factors impact attentional allocation, with behaviour being strongly influenced by the interaction between individual intent and our visual environment. Traditionally, visual search efficiency has been studied under solo search conditions. Here, we propose a novel joint search paradigm where one individual controls the visual input available to another individual via a gaze contingent window (e.g., Participant 1 controls the window with their eye movements and Participant 2 – in an adjoining room – sees only stimuli that Participant 1 is fixating and responds to the target accordingly). Pairs of participants completed three blocks of a detection task that required them to: (1) search and detect the target individually, (2) search the display while their partner performed the detection task, or (3) detect while their partner searched. Search was most accurate when the person detecting was doing so for the second time while the person controlling the visual input was doing so for the first time, even when compared to participants with advanced solo or joint task experience (Experiments 2 and 3). Through surrendering control of one’s search strategy, we posit that there is a benefit of a reduced working memory load for the detector resulting in more accurate search. This paradigm creates a counterintuitive speed/accuracy trade-off which combines the heightened ability that comes from task experience (discrimination task) with the slower performance times associated with a novel task (the initial search) to create a potentially more efficient method of visual search.     

Cultural differences in attention: Eye movement evidence from a comparative visual search task

Individual differences in visual attention have been linked to thinking style: analytic thinking (common in individualistic cultures) is thought to promote attention to detail and focus on the most important part of a scene, whereas holistic thinking (common in collectivist cultures) promotes attention to the global structure of a scene and the relationship between its parts. However, this theory is primarily based on relatively simple judgement tasks. We compared groups from Great Britain (an individualist culture) and Saudi Arabia (a collectivist culture) on a more complex comparative visual search task, using simple natural scenes. A higher overall number of fixations for Saudi participants, along with longer search times, indicated less efficient search behaviour than British participants. Furthermore, intra-group comparisons of scan-path for Saudi participants revealed less similarity than within the British group. Together, these findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between an analytic cognitive style and controlled attention.     

The influence of the visual surrounding environment in older adults and young adults’ cognitive performance: an alternative paradigm

ABSTRACT

This study investigated how the characteristics of the visual surrounding environment influence older- and young-adults’ cognitive performance. Sixty-four older adults and 64 young adults performed four visual cognitive tasks (attention and memory tasks) in two independent sessions while being exposed to a high-load and a low-load visual surrounding environment. We expected that the high-load environment would hurt the older-adults performance due to typical difficulties in ignoring irrelevant stimuli, whereas no such effect would likely occur for the young-adults whose cognitive abilities are at their best. Overall, our results were consistent with our prediction in three tasks (go/no-go, choice reaction time, and Corsi block-tapping). Additionally, the older adults performed worse than the young adults in all tasks, thus confirming expected age-related differences. Our results are consistent with those obtained when distractors and targets are presented in the same display, now using a paradigm which locates the distractors in the surrounding environment.     

Effects of age on attention level: changes in performance between the ages of 12 and 90

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the present study was to assess the changes in attention level among individuals between the ages of 12 and 90 years. A cross-sectional design was used, with each participant tested once by means of the Mathematics Continuous Performance Test (MATH-CPT). Participants were 496 males and females who were divided into eight age-groups, with each group spanning a period of ten years. Attention level was assessed through comparison with nine variables assessing attention. As people aged, significant reductions in the quality of performance emerged on the five main measures of the MATH-CPT: Two of the four sustained attention variables showed an improvement with age. The peak attention level was in the 30 to a 40-age range, after that, there was a constant decline in the level of attention. The study offers encouraging results with respect to the effect of aging on cognitive functioning and specifically sustained attention.     

Subjective cognitive complaint in healthy older adults: Identification of major domains and relation to objective performance

This study analyzed complaints across a range of memory domains in middle-aged and older adults, as well as assessed their relationship with objective cognitive performance and personal characteristics. A total of 115 community-dwelling, healthy adults between the ages of 45 and 87 completed the Self-Evaluation Questionnaire (QAM) and were tested with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. A principal component analysis identified seven dimensions of complaint. Difficulty inhibiting internal and external sources of interference when learning or remembering something was the main area of complaint and it was correlated with word-list recall and Digit Symbol. We identified complaints related to a set of memory failures that appear to be more detrimental to autonomy and safety. These were correlated with a measure of functional autonomy and might, therefore, indicate more severe difficulties. Overall, this study provides indications regarding the main domains of memory complaints and identifies which complaints are most reflective of objective cognitive problems.     

Relationship of cognitive strategy use to prospective memory performance in a diverse sample of nondemented older adults with varying degrees of cognitive complaints and impairment

Although older adults typically have better performance on prospective memory (PM) tasks carried out in naturalistic settings, a paucity of research directly assesses older adults’ use of compensatory strategies on such tasks. The current study investigates external memory strategy use during performance of a clinical PM test that features both short-term (in laboratory) and long-term (out of laboratory) subtasks (i.e., the Royal Prince Alfred Prospective Memory Test – RPA-ProMem. Nondemented, community-dwelling older adults (n = 214; mean age = 80.5; 68.2% female; 39.7% non-white) with mild cognitive impairment, subjective cognitive decline, and healthy controls completed the RPA-ProMem while external strategy use was permitted and recorded. Overall, participants utilized external strategies 41% of the time on the RPA-ProMem. Increased utilization of external memory strategies was significantly associated with better PM performance. Additionally, better performance on executive functioning tasks was associated with increased use of external memory strategies. Results are discussed in relation to how memory strategy use can be enhanced to improve everyday memory ability in older adults at risk for dementia.     

Prospective memory and intraindividual variability in ongoing task response times in an adult lifespan sample: the role of cue focality

To contribute to the ongoing conceptual debate of what traditional mean-level ongoing task (OT) costs tell us about the attentional processes underlying prospective memory (PM), we investigated costs to intraindividual variability (IIV) in OT response times as a potentially sensitive indicator of attentional processes. Particularly, we tested whether IIV in OT responses may reflect controlled employment of attentional processes versus lapses of controlled attention, whether these processes differ across adulthood, and whether it is moderated by cue focality. We assessed 150 individuals (19–82 years) in a focal and a nonfocal PM condition. In addition, external measures of inhibition and working memory were assessed. In line with the predictions of the lapses-of-attention/inefficient-executive-control account, our data support the view that costs to IIV in OT trials of PM tasks reflect fluctuations in the efficiency of executive functioning, which was related to failures in prospective remembering, particularly in nonfocal PM tasks, potentially due to their increased executive demands. The additional value of considering costs to IIV over and beyond traditional mean-level OT costs in PM research is discussed.     

Concurrent deployment of visual attention and response selection bottleneck in a dual-task: Electrophysiological and behavioural evidence

Visual attention and response selection are limited in capacity. Here, we investigated whether visual attention requires the same bottleneck mechanism as response selection in a dual-task of the psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm. The dual-task consisted of an auditory two-choice discrimination Task 1 and a conjunction search Task 2, which were presented at variable temporal intervals (stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA). In conjunction search, visual attention is required to select items and to bind their features resulting in a serial search process around the items in the search display (i.e., set size). We measured the reaction time of the visual search task (RT2) and the N2pc, an event-related potential (ERP), which reflects lateralized visual attention processes. If the response selection processes in Task 1 influence the visual attention processes in Task 2, N2pc latency and amplitude would be delayed and attenuated at short SOA compared to long SOA. The results, however, showed that latency and amplitude were independent of SOA, indicating that visual attention was concurrently deployed to response selection. Moreover, the RT2 analysis revealed an underadditive interaction of SOA and set size. We concluded that visual attention does not require the same bottleneck mechanism as response selection in dual-tasks.     

Segmenting the stream of consciousness: the psychological correlates of temporal structures in the time series data of a continuous performance task

Using principal component analysis, we examined whether structural properties in the time series of response time would identify different mental states during a continuous performance task. We examined whether it was possible to identify regular patterns which were present in blocks classified as lacking controlled processing, either behaviourally (as a failure to withhold a response to a target) or subjectively (as an off task report at a thought probe). Principal component analysis identified three components present in response times accounting for 58.8% of the variance in the data. Of these components, the second largest factor showed two features that implied it was a marker for mind wandering. First, it was stronger under slow relative to fast stimulus presentation conditions, and so paralleled the distribution of mind wandering reports. Second, it was more powerful prior to behaviour markers of mind wandering (failures in response inhibition) and less powerful prior to reports of task focused thinking (on task reports). Taken together, the use of principal components analysis on response times seem a viable tool for differentiating different mental states and so could help identify the neural substrates which underpin mind wandering and other subjective states.     

Motor creativity: the roles of attention breadth and working memory in a divergent doing task

We evaluated the dual-pathway model to creativity in a motor context. The model describes separate flexibility and persistence pathways that are affected differently by breadth of attention and working memory. Motor creativity was tested using a divergent doing task. In Experiment 1 participants performed the divergent doing task after attention was broadened, narrowed or not manipulated. In Experiment 2, the divergent doing task was performed with a low or high working memory load. We found that a broad attention increased flexibility but not persistence. Also originality was unaffected. Taxing working memory did not affect persistence, flexibility or originality. The results provide partial support for the dual-pathway model in motor creativity. Discusion focusses on increased demands for the appropriatness of a solution in divergent doing relative to divergent thinking and to degree to which this implies a more general shortcoming of the dual-pathway model.     

Comparing the effects of goal types in a walking session with healthy adults: Preliminary evidence for open goals in physical activity

ObjectivesGoal-setting is one of the most common strategies used to increase physical activity. Current practice is often based on specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) goals. However, theory and research suggests that this approach may be problematic. Open goals (e.g., “see how well you can do”) have emerged as a possible alternative, but are yet to be tested experimentally in physically active tasks. In a walking-based session, this study aimed to experimentally compare the effects of open, SMART and do-your-best goals with a control condition on distance walked and psychological variables related to engagement.DesignRepeated measures design (mixed model).MethodParticipants (N = 78; M_age = 55.88) were randomly assigned to one of four goal conditions: an open, SMART, or do-your-best goal, or a control condition (“walk at your normal pace”), before completing a baseline and two manipulated attempts of a 6-min walking test.ResultsOpen, SMART, and do-your-best goals achieved greater distance walked, and higher ratings of perceived exertion, than the control across both experimental attempts. Open and SMART goals led to greater enjoyment of the session. However, SMART goals led to higher pressure/tension, while open goals led to higher perceptions of performance and higher interest in repeating the session.ConclusionsThese findings provide preliminary evidence for the efficacy of setting open goals in physical activity, and suggest that they may be more psychologically adaptive to pursue than SMART or do-your-best goals. Implications are discussed, and recommendations are made for future goal-setting research in physical activity.     

Sequential and myopic: On the use of feedback to balance cost and utility in a simulated electricity efficiency task

While there is extensive research on feedback, little research is aimed at the use of feedback to optimise conflicting goals. A task modelled after In Home Displays for providing feedback about electricity cost was designed to investigate the effects of feedback frequency, detail, and stability, when participants try to balance cost and utility. Frequent feedback proved to be advantageous in a deterministic system, but feedback aggregated over time was advantageous in a system with noisy feedback. Surprisingly, performance was better with noisy feedback, where the probabilism, in effect, acted as a filter, highlighting the applications that are most important for the cost and the utility. Computational modelling suggested that the best-fitting model assumes that the participants are sequential, considering one goal at a time, first satisfying the cost budget, only thereafter trying to maximise the utility, and reflexive, myopically responding primarily to the feedback explicitly available on a given trial.     

And along came a spider: An attentional bias for the detection of spiders in young children and adults

Spiders are among the most common targets of fears and phobias in the world. In visual search tasks, adults detect their presence more rapidly than other kinds of stimuli. Reported here is an investigation of whether young children share this attentional bias for the detection of spiders. In a series of experiments, preschoolers and adults were asked to find the single spider picture among an array of eight mushrooms or cockroaches or the reverse. Both children and adults detected the presence of spiders more rapidly than both categories of distracter stimuli. Furthermore, there was no difference between the detection of two neutral stimuli (cockroaches vs. mushrooms). These results provide the first evidence of enhanced visual detection of spiders in young children.     

Adult attachment styles and cognitive vulnerability to depression in a sample of undergraduate students: the mediational roles of sociotropy and autonomy

We analysed the mediational role of the personality dimensions of sociotropy and autonomy in the relationship between certain styles of attachment and depressive symptoms. In order for us to do so, a group of university students filled out the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Revised Personal Style Inventory (PSI-II) and the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ). Individuals having attachment styles with a negative model of self (preoccupied and fearful) obtained significantly higher scores in the BDI than those having attachment styles with a positive model of self (secure and dismissing), which coincides with previous research. We followed the standard procedure of Baron and Kenny of linear regression in order to perform the mediational analyses. The preoccupied attachment style-depressive symptoms relationship was mediated by sociotropy. It was also found that autonomy exerted a significant mediational effect on the relationship between the fearful attachment style and depressive symptoms. These results are consistent with the notion that insecure attachment predisposes individuals to the development of depressogenic personality styles. Thus, the findings of the present study contribute to improving the understanding of the factors involved in the development of vulnerability to depression. Furthermore, the results point out the importance of evaluating both attachment style and sociotropy/autonomy personality dimensions for the treatment of depressive patients.     

Expertise reversal effect in a pen-tablet-based learning environment: The role of learningcentered emotions in the interplay between learner expertise and task complexity

The study investigated interactions between learner expertise and task complexity evaluated from both cognitive and affective perspectives. One hundred and seventy-three students, both novices and advanced learners, were asked to learn Japanese writing in a pen-tablet-based digital learning environment with varying task complexity levels. Cognitive load and learning-centred emotions were measured at intervals during learning, while writing performance was monitored by runtime tracking. Results indicated that while advanced learners performed better than novices across the range of task complexity, the moderate task complexity was shown to be superior in enhancing performance for both levels of expertise. Results for learning-centred emotions showed that advanced learners reported lower enjoyment and higher frustration when completing the low complexity task, whereas the moderately complex task was reported to be the most enjoyable and less frustrating for these learners. No significant difference in emotions was found across levels of task complexity for novices. Finally, a constructed composite indicator of cognitive-affective efficiency of instructional conditions showed a significant interaction between levels of learner expertise and task complexity primarily caused by affective factors.     

Perception and action in a far-aiming task: Inhibition demands and the functionality of the Quiet Eye in motor performance

It is incontestable that high motor performance requires an optimal coupling between perception and action. In sports as well as in professional tasks, the Quiet Eye (QE) – defined as the final fixation before movement initiation – has been found to explain a considerable amount of variance in motor performance and expertise. In the current series of studies, the underlying mechanisms of this perception-action variable were further investigated by testing predictions of the inhibition hypothesis. According to the inhibition hypothesis, the functionality of the QE is to shield movement parametrization. By manipulating the demands during response selection (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2) and movement control (Experiment 2) in a far-aiming task, it was found that – in line with the predictions – QE duration increased with increasing inhibition demands. This effect was mainly driven by the similarity rather than the number of possible actions. Moreover, the relation between inhibition demands and QE-duration were sustained through both response selection and movement control, which is perfectly in line with the notion of a continuous perception-action cycle in motor behavior. In sum, these findings corroborate the inhibition function as an integral component within a cognitive understanding of the QE phenomenon.     

Mediation in a sibling context: the relations of older siblings' mediating behaviour and younger siblings' task performance

We investigated the sibling relationship as a context for cognitive development. Forty preschoolers (ages 5–6) and their younger siblings (ages 2–3) were visited at home. Four games were presented to the older siblings and they were asked (a) to estimate how well their younger sibling will perform on each game and (b) to teach the younger sibling how to use the games. The older siblings' mediating behaviours during the teaching session and the younger siblings' performance on the four tasks were coded. The frequency of mediating behaviours—including attention focusing, amplifying affect and providing meaning, fostering a sense of competence, regulating of the learning process, de‐contextualization, and negative feedback in the form of mocking and laughing at errors, predicted the younger siblings' task performance. The older sibling's accurate perception of the younger child's competence was uniquely predictive of task performance. The highest amount of mediation was observed in older‐brother–younger‐brother pairs, in particular the behaviours of negative feedback and amplifying affect. Results contribute to the discussion on the role of siblings as moderators of cognitive development and are discussed in terms of Vygotsky's cultural–historical perspective on apprenticeship. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Auditory and visual hallucinations in a sample of severely mentally ill Puerto Rican women: an examination of the cultural context

The content, interpretation, and structure of hallucinations experienced by individuals with severe mental illness are influenced by the culture of the individuals who experience them. We analyzed the content of visual and auditory hallucinations of 53 Puerto Rican women in northeastern Ohio with a diagnosis of a severe mental illness (SMI) who were participating in a study of HIV risk among Hispanic women with SMI. Compared to non-hallucinators, hallucinators had lower global assessment of functioning scores and greater suicidality. Hallucinations reflected three themes: religious themes, command hallucinations, and unidentifiable voices. Hallucinators’ subjective experience of their hallucinations ranged from a sense of security to significant distress. Participants developed a wide range of strategies to deal with threatening hallucinations. Provider response to individuals’ experience appeared to impact the quality of the patient–provider relationship. We recommend the inclusion of religious history in the initial assessment of individuals. This will assist the provider in making an accurate diagnosis, distinguishing between religious beliefs and those that reflect underlying pathology, and in increasing the level of cultural competence of the care provided. Religious and spiritual beliefs that provide a source of hope and strength for the patient can be utilized to expand and enhance the patient's coping strategies.     

Handwriting on a tablet screen: Role of visual and proprioceptive feedback in the control of movement by children and adults

Tablets are increasingly being used in schools for a variety of handwriting tasks. Given that the control of handwriting relies on both visual and proprioceptive feedback, especially in younger writers, this raises the question of whether the texture of the tablet surface affects graphomotor execution. A series of recent studies found that when the smoothness of a tablet screen modifies proprioceptive feedback, the impact on graphomotor execution varies according to the level of the writer’s handwriting skills. However, as the writing on the screen remained visible in these studies, participants may have compensated for the decrease in proprioceptive feedback by relying more heavily on visual information. The aim of the present study was therefore to unravel the respective contributions of different types of sensory feedback during handwriting development and, consequently, the compensatory role of visual information when children and adults have to write on a tablet. To this end, we asked second and fifth graders and adult participants to write letters and pseudowords on a plastic board placed on top of a tablet screen. Participants wrote on either the smooth or the granular side of the plastic board (manipulation of surface friction), and with normal vision or behind a shield that hid the hand and handwriting from direct view (manipulation of vision). Kinematic parameters and legibility were recorded to assess handwriting performances. Results revealed a significant interaction between proprioceptive and visual feedback on letter size, pen speed and legibility, regardless of participants’ age. Furthermore, reducing the visual and proprioceptive feedback had a greater effect on the children’s handwriting performances than on those of adults. Overall, the present study provides new insight into the contribution of the different types of sensory feedback and their interaction with handwriting development. In addition, our results on the impact of tablet surface on graphomotor execution will serve as useful pointers for improving the design of this tool for children, such as increasing the degree of friction of the screen surface.