Contextual cueing in multiple object tracking

In this study, we examined whether visual context can be learned through a dynamic display and whether it can facilitate sustained attentional tracking by combining a multiple object tracking (MOT) task and a contextual cueing procedure. The trajectories of the targets and distractors in the MOT task were made invariant by repeatedly presenting them. The results revealed that when the targets were repeatedly displayed, tracking performance implicitly improved, and this effect was enhanced when the unattended distractors in the displays were also repeated. However, the repetition of the distractors alone did not produce any effect. Interestingly, when the targets and distractors were switched in a display in which the distractors had been previously repeated, the tracking performance was impaired as compared with that in the case of nonrepeated displays. We concluded that the contextual information in a dynamic display facilitates attentional tracking and that different types of contextual modulations occurred in MOT processes, such as facilitation for attended targets and inhibition for ignored distractors.     

Edge-induced illusory contours and visual detection: Subthreshold summation or spatial cueing?

Findings that illusory contours can facilitate visual detection of a subthreshold real line (Dresp & Bonnet, 1995) were not replicated, when line-induced instead of edge-induced illusory contour stimuli were used (Salvano-Pardieu et al., 2006). Rather, the results of the latter study supported the importance of spatial cues. The present study was designed to investigate whether spatial cueing might also facilitate detection of targets superimposed on edge-induced illusory contours. In Experiment 1, a target line was superimposed on the illusory contour of a Kanizsa square, presented between dots with a precise or distant location to the target, or on a homogeneous field (control). Detection of the target was poorest for the control, followed by the distant-dots and Kanizsa conditions, whereas it was best for precisely cueing dots. Experiment 2 replicated the conditions in Experiment 1 (Kanizsa, precisely cueing dots, and control) with additional controls for possible luminance effects. The two new conditions matched the Kanizsa condition for overall luminance and preciseness of spatial cueing without generating illusory contours. Performance was best in the dot condition and worst in the control, but the same across the Kanizsa and matched luminance conditions. In Experiments 3 and 4, the stimuli presented were matched more closely to those used by Dresp and Bonnet, but still the results confirmed those obtained in our Experiments 1 and 2. Together, these experiments strongly suggest that detection is also facilitated by spatial cueing rather than subthreshold summation, in the case of edge-induced illusory contours.     

任务难度与部分线索效应

部分线索效应是指在学习一个词表后,呈现已学项目中的一部分作为回忆线索去回忆其他项目时,回忆效果反而不如没有线索组的效果好。研究通过三个实验探讨了不同任务难度的部分线索效应。结果表明：（1）在中文词表记忆中存在部分线索效应;（2）随着学习材料难度的提高由部分线索造成的提取成绩的削减量降低。这一研究结果支持了部分线索效应的策略破坏假说。     

自我面孔对空间注意的调控：来自Posner空间线索范式的证据

利用Posner的空间线索范式,三个实验意在探寻自我面孔作为特殊的刺激对空间注意的调控作用。在实验一中,自我或者熟悉的面孔作为内源性线索出现在视野中央,通过朝左或者朝右来提示目标出现的位置。在实验二（小图）和实验三（大图）中,自我或熟悉的面孔与目标同时呈现,作为与任务无关的刺激出现在视野的左侧或右侧。实验一的结果发现,与熟悉的面孔相比较,自我面孔产生了更大的提示效应。这意味着当自我面孔与任务相关时,对提示位置易化优于熟悉的面孔。与之相反的是,在实验二和实验三中,自我面孔和熟悉的面孔同样捕获目标位置的空间注意。然而,研究并没有发现自我面孔与熟悉面孔在捕获注意上的差异。这一结果也许暗示着在注意捕获的过程中,面孔效应足够大而掩盖了自我效应的出现。这些发现表明自我面孔之所以是具有特殊性的刺激不仅受感知过程的影响,还依赖于与任务的关系。     

空间选择性注意在上下视野间的转移

本实验研究空间选择性注意在上下视野间的转移及其是否受知觉空间的影响。实验采用Posner的位置线索化实验范式和两种深度线索背景,测量分辨任务的反应时(RTs)。实验发现:线索有效时的反应时比线索无效时的反应时短,而且线索对上视野刺激的反应时的影响较大。知觉空间中的深度线索对于注意在上下视野中转移没有显著影响。这些结果表明,空间选择性注意在上下视野转移存在不对称性,并且主要由物理空间决定。     

Incidental learning of trust from eye-gaze: Effects of race and facial trustworthiness

Humans rapidly make inferences about individuals’ trustworthiness on the basis of their facial features and perceived group membership. We examine whether incidental learning about trust from shifts in gaze direction is influenced by these facial features. To do so, we examined two types of face category: the race of the face and the initial trustworthiness of the face based on physical appearance. We find that cueing of attention by eye-gaze is unaffected by race or initial levels of trust, whereas incidental learning of trust from gaze behaviour is selectively influenced. That is, learning of trust is reduced for other-race faces, as predicted by reduced abilities to identify members of other races (Experiment 1). In contrast, converging findings from an independently gathered set of data showed that the initial trustworthiness of faces did not influence learning of trust (Experiment 2). These results show that learning about the behaviour of other-race faces is poorer than for own-race faces, but that this cannot be explained by differences in the perceived trustworthiness of different groups.     

多媒体学习中的图文整合:同步化线索和学习者经验的作用

多媒体学习中线索和经验可能在学习过程和效果上具有重要作用。研究控制线索与解说呈现的时间同步性,选取高、低经验大学生被试,采用SMI RED 250记录眼动,探讨同步化线索和经验对多媒体学习过程和效果的影响。结果发现:同步线索条件下测验成绩比非同步线索更高,感知难度更低,对线索区的总注视时间、首次注视时间更长,进入线索区次数和线索区注视点个数更多;高经验者测验成绩比低经验者更好,感知难度更低,但在注视加工上二者没有差异;线索和经验交互作用不显著。结论认为:同步线索更有利于图文整合,降低感知难度,促进注视加工,提高学习成绩;高经验者的经验优势表现在学习效果和主观难度感知上,而非注视加工;同步线索没有弥补低经验者的劣势。     

Examining the durability of incidentally learned trust from gaze cues

In everyday interactions we find our attention follows the eye gaze of faces around us. As this cueing is so powerful and difficult to inhibit, gaze can therefore be used to facilitate or disrupt visual processing of the environment, and when we experience this we infer information about the trustworthiness of the cueing face. However, to date no studies have investigated how long these impressions last. To explore this we used a gaze-cueing paradigm where faces consistently demonstrated either valid or invalid cueing behaviours. Previous experiments show that valid faces are subsequently rated as more trustworthy than invalid faces. We replicate this effect (Experiment 1) and then include a brief interference task in Experiment 2 between gaze cueing and trustworthiness rating, which weakens but does not completely eliminate the effect. In Experiment 3, we explore whether greater familiarity with the faces improves the durability of trust learning and find that the effect is more resilient with familiar faces. Finally, in Experiment 4, we push this further and show that evidence of trust learning can be seen up to an hour after cueing has ended. Taken together, our results suggest that incidentally learned trust can be durable, especially for faces that deceive.     

Objects but not concepts modulate the size of the attended region

Here we investigated the types of stimuli that modulate the size of the attentional spotlight. In particular, it has been previously shown that conceptual cues that either directly refer to or are semantically related to particular spatial locations can shift attention to that location (known as “conceptual cueing”). For example, reading the word sun or joy can shift attention upward whereas the word boot or hostile can shift attention downward. Here, therefore, we tested whether words could modulate the size of the attended area. Across five experiments, we found that words that either directly referred to, or were abstractly associated with, particular sizes (small versus large) did not change the size of the attentional spotlight, whereas the presence of differently sized stimuli did, as evidenced by faster responses to targets when the spotlight is small than when it is large. This suggests that physical but not conceptual inducers can modulate the size of the attentional spotlight. This highlights an important difference between the regulation of spotlight size and shifts of attention, supporting the notion that they are subserved by distinct mechanisms.     

Interoceptive awareness and unaware fear conditioning: are subliminal conditioning effects influenced by the manipulation of visceral self-perception?

Research has shown repeatedly that attention influences implicit learning effects. In a similar vein, interoceptive awareness might be involved in unaware fear conditioning: The fact that the CS is repeatedly presented in the context of aversive bodily experiences might facilitate the development of conditioned responding. We investigated the role of interoceptive attention in a subliminal conditioning paradigm. Conditioning was embedded in a spatial cueing task with subliminally presented cues that were followed by a masking stimulus. Response times to the targets that were either validly or invalidly predicted by the cues served as index of conditioning. Interoceptive attention was manipulated between-subjects. Half the participants completed a heartbeat detection task before conditioning. This task tunes attention to one’s own bodily signals. We found that conditioned responding was facilitated in this latter group of participants. These results are in line with the hypothesis that a rise interoceptive attention enhances unaware conditioned responding.