The effect of task-irrelevant spatial contexts on 360-degree attention

Abstract

The effect of spatial contexts on attention is important for evaluating the risk of human errors and the accessibility of information in different situations. In traditional studies, this effect has been investigated using display-based and non-laboratory procedures. However, these two procedures are inadequate for measuring attention directed toward 360-degree environments and controlling exogeneous stimuli. In order to resolve these limitations, we used a virtual-reality-based procedure and investigated how spatial contexts of 360-degree environments influence attention. In the experiment, 20 students were asked to search for and report a target that was presented at any location in 360-degree virtual spaces as accurately and quickly as possible. Spatial contexts comprised a basic context (a grey and objectless space) and three specific contexts (a square grid floor, a cubic room, and an infinite floor). We found that response times for the task and eye movements were influenced by the spatial context of 360-degree surrounding spaces. In particular, although total viewing times for the contexts did not match the saliency maps, the differences in total viewing times between the basic and specific contexts did resemble the maps. These results suggest that attention comprises basic and context-dependent characteristics, and the latter are influenced by the saliency of 360-degree contexts even when the contexts are irrelevant to a task.

Quantitative evaluation of visual guidance effects for 360-degree directions

“…Actual VR contents have different contexts such as backgrounds, target items, and tasks. Given that users' attention changes with contexts (Harada & Ohyama, 2020), the interaction between the guidance and contexts would be important to predict visual cognition. Therefore, the interaction needs to be investigated in future studies.…”

Remote Virtual Simulation for Incident Commanders—Cognitive Aspects

“…Education expands in many different other domains using virtual reality technologies [36][37][38] or serious games in general for simulating the "work environment", e.g., Labster for Biotech subjects [39] or for a wide range of courses in virtual worlds such as Sloodle [40] or MaxWhere [41]. Other articles present technological advancements influencing cognitive aspects while using these new technologies, e.g., support of attention [42], navigation, and orientation (the different technologies require different support for navigation) [43][44][45] handling empathy [46] or emotion [47]. However, determining the added value of the different technologies for the various domains is demanding.…”