Daniel T. Levin and Megan M. Saylor
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195188370
- eISBN:
- 9780199870462
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188370.003.0022
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience
This chapter proposes a new metaphor to guide research on visual attention: instead of a spotlight, hand, or zoom lens, attention is sometimes better likened to a pecking chicken. This metaphor may ...
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This chapter proposes a new metaphor to guide research on visual attention: instead of a spotlight, hand, or zoom lens, attention is sometimes better likened to a pecking chicken. This metaphor may capture visual attention in situations where it only sometimes samples the visual world and does not track all objects over space and time. A set of metaphors for visual attention is reviewed and some of the ways in which these metaphors arise from the tasks used to study visual attention are discussed. Research documenting a range of failures of visual awareness that has questioned this understanding is described. Some implications for a model of attention that is less continuous than previous models but which produces a close link between knowledge and perceptual information during the specific moments when perceivers need to understand a visual scene are discussed.Less
This chapter proposes a new metaphor to guide research on visual attention: instead of a spotlight, hand, or zoom lens, attention is sometimes better likened to a pecking chicken. This metaphor may capture visual attention in situations where it only sometimes samples the visual world and does not track all objects over space and time. A set of metaphors for visual attention is reviewed and some of the ways in which these metaphors arise from the tasks used to study visual attention are discussed. Research documenting a range of failures of visual awareness that has questioned this understanding is described. Some implications for a model of attention that is less continuous than previous models but which produces a close link between knowledge and perceptual information during the specific moments when perceivers need to understand a visual scene are discussed.
John K. Tsotsos
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262015417
- eISBN:
- 9780262295420
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262015417.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Vision
Although William James declared in 1890, “Everyone knows what attention is,” today, there are many different and sometimes opposing views on the subject. This fragmented theoretical landscape may ...
More
Although William James declared in 1890, “Everyone knows what attention is,” today, there are many different and sometimes opposing views on the subject. This fragmented theoretical landscape may exist because most of the theories and models of attention offer explanations in natural language or in a pictorial manner rather than providing a quantitative and unambiguous statement of the theory, and focus on the manifestations of attention instead of its rationale. This book develops a formal model of visual attention with the goal of providing a theoretical explanation for why humans (and animals) must have the capacity to attend, and uses the full breadth of the language of computation—rather than simply the language of mathematics—as the formal means of description. The result, the Selective Tuning model of vision and attention, explains attentive behavior in humans and provides a foundation for building computer systems that see with human-like characteristics. The overarching conclusion is that human vision is based on a general purpose processor which can be dynamically tuned to the task and the scene viewed on a moment-by-moment basis. The book offers an overview of attention theories and models, and a description of the Selective Tuning model, confining the formal elements to two chapters and two appendixes. The text is accompanied by more than 100 illustrations in black and white and color; additional color illustrations and movies are available on the book’s website.Less
Although William James declared in 1890, “Everyone knows what attention is,” today, there are many different and sometimes opposing views on the subject. This fragmented theoretical landscape may exist because most of the theories and models of attention offer explanations in natural language or in a pictorial manner rather than providing a quantitative and unambiguous statement of the theory, and focus on the manifestations of attention instead of its rationale. This book develops a formal model of visual attention with the goal of providing a theoretical explanation for why humans (and animals) must have the capacity to attend, and uses the full breadth of the language of computation—rather than simply the language of mathematics—as the formal means of description. The result, the Selective Tuning model of vision and attention, explains attentive behavior in humans and provides a foundation for building computer systems that see with human-like characteristics. The overarching conclusion is that human vision is based on a general purpose processor which can be dynamically tuned to the task and the scene viewed on a moment-by-moment basis. The book offers an overview of attention theories and models, and a description of the Selective Tuning model, confining the formal elements to two chapters and two appendixes. The text is accompanied by more than 100 illustrations in black and white and color; additional color illustrations and movies are available on the book’s website.
John M. Henderson
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195084627
- eISBN:
- 9780199847167
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195084627.003.0013
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
The chapter focuses on the often neglected aspect of the perceptual experience—the impact and effect of the visual process on our attention-action interface. The chapter utilizes studies on eye ...
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The chapter focuses on the often neglected aspect of the perceptual experience—the impact and effect of the visual process on our attention-action interface. The chapter utilizes studies on eye movement control to explore further the linkage between action and perception. A selection function is ascribed to the visual system, which causes an intended motor action to be directed at a specific object within the visual field. This selective capability links the various visual representations with visual processing and motor programming. Succeeding sections explore the concept of visual attention further and its relationship to eye movements, citing studies using the Moving Window Paradigm, the Sequential Attention Model, and Feature Integration Theory. These studies support the theory that visual attention precedes saccadic eye movement to a specific location of a stimulus in the visual field, and enables the motor system to bind the said location with a motor action.Less
The chapter focuses on the often neglected aspect of the perceptual experience—the impact and effect of the visual process on our attention-action interface. The chapter utilizes studies on eye movement control to explore further the linkage between action and perception. A selection function is ascribed to the visual system, which causes an intended motor action to be directed at a specific object within the visual field. This selective capability links the various visual representations with visual processing and motor programming. Succeeding sections explore the concept of visual attention further and its relationship to eye movements, citing studies using the Moving Window Paradigm, the Sequential Attention Model, and Feature Integration Theory. These studies support the theory that visual attention precedes saccadic eye movement to a specific location of a stimulus in the visual field, and enables the motor system to bind the said location with a motor action.
