Visual search experiments typically involve participants searching simple displays with two potential response options: 'present' or 'absent'. Here we examined search behavior and decision-making ...when participants were tasked with searching ambiguous displays whilst also being given a third response option: 'I don't know'. Participants searched for a simple target (the letter 'o') amongst other letters in the displays. We made the target difficult to detect by increasing the degree to which letters overlapped in the displays. The results showed that as overlap increased, participants were more likely to respond 'I don't know', as expected. RT analyses demonstrated that 'I don't know' responses occurred at a later time than 'present' responses (but before 'absent' responses) when the overlap was low. By contrast, when the overlap was high, 'I don't know' responses occurred very rapidly. We discuss the implications of our findings for current models and theories in terms of what we refer to as 'information stagnation' during visual search.
The Jingle fallacy is the false assumption that instruments which share the same name measure the same underlying construct. In this experiment, we focus on the comprehension subtests of the Nelson ...Denny Reading Test (NDRT) and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-II). 91 university students read passages for comprehension whilst their eye movements were recorded. Participants took part in two experimental blocks of which the order was counterbalanced, one with higher comprehension demands and one with lower comprehension demands. We assumed that tests measuring comprehension would be able to predict differences observed in eye movement patterns as a function of varying comprehension demands. Overall, readers were able to adapt their reading strategy to read more slowly, making more and longer fixations, coupled with shorter saccades when comprehension demands were higher. Within an experimental block, high scorers on the NDRT were able to consistently increase their pace of reading over time for both higher and lower comprehension demands, whereas low scorers approached a threshold where they could not continue to increase their reading speed or further reduce the number of fixations to read a text, even when comprehension demands were low. Individual differences based on the WIAT-II did not explain similar patterns. The NDRT comprehension test was therefore more predictive of differences in the reading patterns of skilled adult readers in response to comprehension demands than the WIAT-II (which also suffered from low reliability). Our results revealed that these different comprehension measures should not be used interchangeably, and researchers should be cautious when choosing reading comprehension tests for research.
When a preview contains substituted letters (SL; markey) word identification is more disrupted for a target word (monkey), compared to when the preview contains transposed letters (TL; mnokey). The ...transposed letter effect demonstrates that letter positions are encoded more flexibly than letter identities, and is a robust finding in adults. However, letter position encoding has been shown to gradually become more flexible as reading skills develop. It is unclear whether letter position encoding flexibility reaches maturation in skilled adult readers, or whether some differences in the magnitude of the TL effect remain in relation to individual differences in cognitive skills. We examined 100 skilled adult readers who read sentences containing a correct, TL or SL preview. Previews were replaced by the correct target word when the reader's gaze triggered an invisible boundary. Cognitive skills were assessed and grouped based on overlapping variance via Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and subsequently used to predict eye movement measures for each condition. Consistent with previous literature, adult readers were found to generally encode letter position more flexibly than letter identity. Very few differences were found in the magnitude of TL effects between adults based on individual differences in cognitive skills. The flexibility of letter position encoding appears to reach maturation (or near maturation) in skilled adult readers.
Throughout human evolutionary history, snakes have been associated with danger and threat. Research has shown that snakes are prioritized by our attentional system, despite many of us rarely ...encountering them in our daily lives. We conducted two high-powered, pre-registered experiments (total N = 224) manipulating target prevalence to understand this heightened prioritization of threatening targets. Target prevalence refers to the proportion of trials wherein a target is presented; reductions in prevalence consistently reduce the likelihood that targets will be found. We reasoned that snake targets in visual search should experience weaker effects of low target prevalence compared to non-threatening targets (rabbits) because they should be prioritized by searchers despite appearing rarely. In both experiments, we found evidence of classic prevalence effects but (contrasting prior work) we also found that search for threatening targets was slower and less accurate than for nonthreatening targets. This surprising result is possibly due to methodological issues common in prior studies, including comparatively smaller sample sizes, fewer trials, and a tendency to exclusively examine conditions of relatively high prevalence. Our findings call into question accounts of threat prioritization and suggest that prior attention findings may be constrained to a narrow range of circumstances.
Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most debilitating health conditions in the world. There has been a vast amount of research into factors that increase the likelihood of developing ...OCD, and there are several explanatory models. Current cognitive models of OCD can be split into appraisal‐based and self‐doubt models. To date, cognitive–behavioural therapy for OCD (grounded in appraisal‐based models) is the recommended treatment approach, and research into the importance of self‐doubt beliefs has been somewhat neglected. This paper therefore aims to consolidate current research, utilizing a systematic review approach, to establish the relationship between fear of self, self‐ambivalence, and obsessive–compulsive symptomatology. A systematic search was conducted based on inclusion criteria identified for this review. Papers were then individually appraised for quality and key data extracted from each paper. A total of 11 studies were included in the final sample. Fear of self and self‐ambivalence were both consistently found to be significant predictors of obsessive–compulsive symptomatology. In particular, research suggests that there is a strong link between self‐doubt beliefs and obsessions and obsessional beliefs related to OCD. Limitations of the review and suggestions for future research are made and applications to clinical practice discussed.
Using a visual search task, we explored how behavior is influenced by both visual and semantic information. We recorded participants’ eye movements as they searched for a single target number in a ...search array of single-digit numbers (0–9). We examined the probability of fixating the various distractors as a function of two key dimensions: the visual similarity between the target and each distractor, and the semantic similarity (i.e., the numerical distance) between the target and each distractor. Visual similarity estimates were obtained using multidimensional scaling based on the independent observer similarity ratings. A linear mixed-effects model demonstrated that both visual and semantic similarity influenced the probability that distractors would be fixated. However, the visual similarity effect was substantially larger than the semantic similarity effect. We close by discussing the potential value of using this novel methodological approach and the implications for both simple and complex visual search displays.
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused an increase in mental ill health compared with prepandemic levels. Longer-term trajectories of depression in adults during the pandemic remain ...unclear.ObjectiveWe used latent growth curve modelling to examine individual trajectories of depression symptoms, and their predictors, beyond the early stage of the pandemic.MethodsData were collected in three waves in May 2020, September/October 2020 and February/March 2021 in four UK cohorts (Millennium Cohort Study, Next Steps cohort, British Cohort and National Child Development Study). We included n=16 978 participants (mean age at baseline: 20, 30, 50 and 62, respectively). Self-reported depressive symptoms were the study outcome.FindingsSymptoms of depression were higher in younger compared with older age groups (d=0.7) across all waves. While depressive symptoms remained stable from May 2020 to Autumn 2020 overall (standardized mean difference (SMD)=0.03, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.04), they increased in all age groups from May 2020 to Spring 2021 (SMD=0.12, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.13). Feelings of loneliness were the strongest predictor and concurrent correlate of increasing depressive symptoms across all cohorts, prepandemic mental health problems and having a long-term illness were also significantly associated with an increase in depression symptoms across all ages. By contrast, compliance with social distancing measures did not predict an increase in depression symptoms.ConclusionsFeeling lonely and isolated had a large effect on depression trajectories across all generations, while social distancing measures did not.Clinical implicationsThese findings highlight the importance of fostering the feeling of connectedness during COVID-19-related distancing measures.
Unlike in laboratory visual search tasks—wherein participants are typically presented with a pictorial representation of the item they are asked to seek out—in real-world searches, the observer ...rarely has veridical knowledge of the visual features that define their target. During categorical search, observers look for any instance of a categorically defined target (e.g., helping a family member look for their mobile phone). In these circumstances, people may not have information about noncritical features (e.g., the phone’s color), and must instead create a broad mental representation using the features that define (or are typical of) the category of objects they are seeking out (e.g., modern phones are typically rectangular and thin). In the current investigation (Experiment
1
), using a categorical visual search task, we add to the body of evidence suggesting that categorical templates are effective enough to conduct efficient visual searches. When color information was available (Experiment 1a), attentional guidance, attention restriction, and object identification were enhanced when participants looked for categories with consistent features (e.g., ambulances) relative to categories with more variable features (e.g., sedans). When color information was removed (Experiment 1b), attention benefits disappeared, but object recognition was still better for feature-consistent target categories. In Experiment
2
, we empirically validated the relative homogeneity of our societally important vehicle stimuli. Taken together, our results are in line with a category-consistent view of categorical target templates (Yu, Maxfield, & Zelinsky in,
Psychological Science
,
2016
. doi:
10.1177/0956797616640237
), and suggest that when features of a category are consistent and predictable, searchers can create mental representations that allow for the efficient guidance and restriction of attention as well as swift object identification.
In many important search tasks, observers must find what they are looking for using only visual information (e.g., X-ray baggage screening/medical screening). However, numerous other search tasks can ...only be effectively completed when the searcher uses their hands to find what they are looking for (e.g., "rummage" search). Unfortunately, it is not currently well understood how observers conduct such "interactive" searches nor what the best strategies might be for doing so. Here, we first review the limited literature on interactive search. We then present a novel methodology for the study of interactive search that involves having observers seek out LEGO® targets in a cluttered tray of assorted bricks. In our validation task, we confirm the validity of this approach by demonstrating that it produces sensible patterns of diminishing returns in response time as targets are removed from the set as well as hastened search times for larger targets. In our experiment, we modify the approach, refining its systematicity and experimental control. We also build on prior work exploring strategy use in visual search by investigating the extent to which active and passive strategy use impacts performance in interactive search. In contrast to our prior findings in hybrid visual search (Madrid & Hout, 2019), our current findings suggest that in interactive search, an active search strategy can be superior to a passive one. We close by offering a conceptual model (the Interactive Multiple Decision Model i-MDM) that explicates the steps involved in a search task of this nature, and we then provide suggestions for how to further refine the task to achieve higher internal validity and to delve deeper into questions of theoretical importance in the field of interactive search.
Public Significance Statement
The present study advances experimental methodology for the study of interactive visual search; that is, search that involves use of both the eyes and the hands. It also suggests that during interactive search in cluttered and busy search environments, the use of an active attentional strategy is more effective than a passive strategy.
Previous research has demonstrated that chronic pain is associated with biased processing of pain-related information. Most studies have examined this bias by measuring response latencies. The ...present study extended previous work by recording eye movement behaviour in individuals with chronic headache and in healthy controls while participants viewed a set of images (i.e., facial expressions) from 4 emotion categories (pain, angry, happy, neutral). Biases in initial orienting were assessed from the location of the initial shift in gaze, and biases in the maintenance of attention were assessed from the duration of gaze on the picture that was initially fixated, and the mean number of visits, and mean fixation duration per image category. The eye movement behaviour of the participants in the chronic headache group was characterised by a bias in initial shift of orienting to pain. There was no evidence of individuals with chronic headache visiting more often, or spending significantly more time viewing, pain images compared to other images. Both participant groups showed a significantly greater bias to maintain gaze longer on happy images, relative to pain, angry, and neutral images. Results are consistent with a pain-related bias that operates in the orienting of attention on pain-related stimuli, and suggest that chronic pain participants' attentional biases for pain-related information are evident even when other emotional stimuli are present. Pain-related information-processing biases appear to be a robust feature of chronic pain and may have an important role in the maintenance of the disorder.
PDF
