Visual attention and prediction in the far periphery

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Werner X. Schneider; Dr. Katharina Weiß
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 290082249

The visual system's inhomogeneity provides a huge challenge for information processing. Severe differences in spatial resolution processing constitute a central aspect of this inhomogeneity: Whereas for objects in the center of the retina - the fovea - spatial resolution is high, the degree of spatial resolution drops rapidly towards the periphery. Therefore, peripheral objects are only coarsely represented in comparison to foveated objects. However, humans possess two powerful compensation mechanisms for the visual system's inhomogeneity: Attention and prediction. Shifting visual attention towards the periphery improves peripheral information processing. Prediction is able to improve information processing with eye movements (transsaccadically) and without, by predicting the location, point in time or even the identity of peripheral or foveal objects. Nevertheless, it is still uncertain whether attention and prediction operate also as compensation mechanisms in the far periphery, that cannot be reached by eye movements alone, beyond the effective occulomotor range (EOMR, >45 degrees). The close connection between eye movements, visuo-spatial attention and (transsaccadic) prediction implies that attention and prediction might be ineffective or less effective beyond the EOMR. Since the few relevant studies show inconsistent results, it is the aim of the present project proposal to investigate the consequences of attention and prediction in the far periphery with established paradigms of attention research (spatial cueing, visual search). The first series of experiments investigates whether there are existing qualitative or (quantitative) attention-related processing differences between near and far periphery in the spatial cueing paradigm; that means within and beyond the natural EMOR. The second experimental series also uses the spatial cueing paradigm to examine the influence of the cue's predictiveness on attentional processes in near and far periphery. Finally, the third series of experiments investigates attention- and prediction-related processes under distraction conditions in a visual search paradigm in the near and far periphery.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants