Attending to illusory differences in object size

Abstract

Focused visual attention can be shifted between objects and locations (attentional orienting) or expanded and contracted in spatial extent (attentional focusing). Although orienting and focusing both modulate visual processing, they have been shown to be distinct, independent modes of attentional control.Objects play a central role in visual attention, and it is known that high-level object representations guide attentional orienting. It not known, however, whether attentional focusing is driven by low-level object representations (which code object size in terms of retinotopic extent) or by high-level representations (which code perceived size). We manipulated the perceived size of physically identical objects using line drawings or photographs that induced the Ponzo illusion in a task requiring the detection of a target within these objects. The distribution of attention was determined by the perceived size and not the retinotopic size of an attended object, indicating that attentional focusing is guided by high-level object representations. Attending to Perceived Size 3The complexity of the sensory environment requires a cognitive mechanism that rapidly and flexibly prioritizes relevant information for visual processing. Selective visual attention serves this function: it can be shifted rapidly between locations (Posner, 1980;Weichselgartner & Sperling, 1987) not only reflexively, in response to salient events and objects (Jonides & Yantis, 1988;Yantis & Jonides, 1984;Theeuwes, 1992), but also voluntarily on the basis of task demands and goals (Jonides, 1981;Nakayama & Mackeben, 1989). The focus of attention can also be expanded or contracted in spatial extent to encompass large or small objects, respectively (e.g., Castiello & Umiltà, 1990; Egeth, 1977; Eriksen & Yeh, 1985; La Berge, 1995;LaBerge, 1983;Maringelli & Umiltà, 1998). Although great strides have been made in understanding the spatial orienting of attention, considerably less is known about the determinants of the spatial extent, or breadth, of focal attention.The process of expanding or contracting the focus of attention -here referred to as attentional focusing -is distinct and independent from the shifting of attention. The two processes, for example, can be triggered independently (Maringelli & Umiltà, 1998), each follows a distinct timecourse (Benso, Turatto, Mascetti, & Umiltà, 1998;Jefferies & Di Lollo, 2009;Weichselgartner & Sperling, 1987), and each is affected differently by training (Turatto, Benso, & Umiltà, 1999), by neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., Facoetti, Lorusso, Paganoni, Cattaneo, Galli, & Mascetti, 2003;Facoetti, Paganoni, Turatto, Marzola, & Mascetti, 2000;Ronconi, Gori, Ruffino, Molteni, Facoetti, 2013), and by normal ageing (e.g., Greenwood, Parasuraman, & Haxby, 1993;Jefferies, Roggeveen, Enns, Bennett, Sekuler, & Di Lollo, 2013;Lincourt, Folk, & Hoyer, 1997).Attentional focusing has been demonstrated clearly in many behavioural studies (e.g., Castiello & Umiltà, 1990; Egeth, 1977; Eriksen & Yeh, 1985; Eri...

Learned states of preparatory attentional control.

“…For example, the spread of attention is variable such that at some moments selection encompasses a comparatively narrow or broad region of space (e.g. Castiello, & Umiltà, 1990; Jefferies, Gmeindl, & Yantis, 2014). It is therefore possible that individuals broaden the spread of attentional selection when in contexts in which shifting attention is more likely than is holding attention.…”

The exogenous and endogenous control of attentional focusing

“…To keep track of changes in the environment, the focus of attention can be shifted rapidly from one object or location to another (attentional orienting; Posner, 1980;Posner & Cohen, 1984;Weichselgartner & Sperling, 1987), expanded or contracted to match the size of relevant objects (attentional focusing; e.g., Castiello & Umiltà, 1990;Eriksen & Yeh, 1985;Eriksen & St. James, 1986;Jefferies, Gmeindl, & Yantis, 2014), and may even be split into more than one focus (Bay & Wyble, 2014;Jefferies, Enns, & Di Lollo, 2014;McMains & Sommers, 2004).…”

Deployment of spatial attention to a structural framework: exogenous (alerting) and endogenous (goal-directed) factors

“…Selective attention allows for the processing of stimuli that are relevant to the task at hand, while filtering out irrelevant information. A good deal is known about selective attention: its focus can be readily shifted from one object or location to another (Posner, 1980;Posner & Cohen, 1984;Weichselgartner & Sperling, 1987), and its spatial extent can be expanded or contracted so as to encompass larger or smaller objects or regions of space (Castiello & Umiltà, 1990;Eriksen & Yeh, 1985;Jefferies & Di Lollo, 2009;Jefferies, Gmeindl, & Yantis, 2014;Jefferies, Roggeveen, Enns, Bennett, Sekuler, & Di Lollo, 2015). Selective attention can also be divided into more than one focus (Bay & Wyble, 2014;Jefferies, Enns, & Di Lollo, 2014;McMains & Sommers, 2004).…”