TY - JOUR
T1 - A target contrast signal theory of parallel processing in goal-directed search
AU - Lleras, Alejandro
AU - Wang, Zhiyuan
AU - Ng, Gavin Jun Peng
AU - Ballew, Kirk
AU - Xu, Jing
AU - Buetti, Simona
N1 - Funding Information:
The theory was developed by S.B. and A.L. The simulations were run by Z. W. The eye-movement experiments were designed by G.J.P.N., S.B., and A.L. Eye-tracking data were analyzed by G.J.P.N. All authors contributed to the writing. This project was partially supported by an NSF grant to SB (award number BCS 1921735).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - Feature Integration Theory (FIT) set out the groundwork for much of the work in visual cognition since its publication. One of the most important legacies of this theory has been the emphasis on feature-specific processing. Nowadays, visual features are thought of as a sort of currency of visual attention (e.g., features can be attended, processing of attended features is enhanced), and attended features are thought to guide attention towards likely targets in a scene. Here we propose an alternative theory – the Target Contrast Signal Theory – based on the idea that when we search for a specific target, it is not the target-specific features that guide our attention towards the target; rather, what determines behavior is the result of an active comparison between the target template in mind and every element present in the scene. This comparison occurs in parallel and is aimed at rejecting from consideration items that peripheral vision can confidently reject as being non-targets. The speed at which each item is evaluated is determined by the overall contrast between that item and the target template. We present computational simulations to demonstrate the workings of the theory as well as eye-movement data that support core predictions of the theory. The theory is discussed in the context of FIT and other important theories of visual search.
AB - Feature Integration Theory (FIT) set out the groundwork for much of the work in visual cognition since its publication. One of the most important legacies of this theory has been the emphasis on feature-specific processing. Nowadays, visual features are thought of as a sort of currency of visual attention (e.g., features can be attended, processing of attended features is enhanced), and attended features are thought to guide attention towards likely targets in a scene. Here we propose an alternative theory – the Target Contrast Signal Theory – based on the idea that when we search for a specific target, it is not the target-specific features that guide our attention towards the target; rather, what determines behavior is the result of an active comparison between the target template in mind and every element present in the scene. This comparison occurs in parallel and is aimed at rejecting from consideration items that peripheral vision can confidently reject as being non-targets. The speed at which each item is evaluated is determined by the overall contrast between that item and the target template. We present computational simulations to demonstrate the workings of the theory as well as eye-movement data that support core predictions of the theory. The theory is discussed in the context of FIT and other important theories of visual search.
KW - Efficient search
KW - Functional viewing field
KW - Parallel processing
KW - Peripheral vision
KW - Visual search
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U2 - 10.3758/s13414-019-01928-9
DO - 10.3758/s13414-019-01928-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 32026450
AN - SCOPUS:85079477949
VL - 82
SP - 394
EP - 425
JO - Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics
JF - Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics
SN - 1943-3921
IS - 2
ER -