TY - JOUR A1 - Adam, Maurits A1 - Elsner, Birgit T1 - The impact of salient action effects on 6-, 7-, and 11-month-olds’ goal-predictive gaze shifts for a human grasping action JF - PLOS ONE N2 - When infants observe a human grasping action, experience-based accounts predict that all infants familiar with grasping actions should be able to predict the goal regardless of additional agency cues such as an action effect. Cue-based accounts, however, suggest that infants use agency cues to identify and predict action goals when the action or the agent is not familiar. From these accounts, we hypothesized that younger infants would need additional agency cues such as a salient action effect to predict the goal of a human grasping action, whereas older infants should be able to predict the goal regardless of agency cues. In three experiments, we presented 6-, 7-, and 11-month-olds with videos of a manual grasping action presented either with or without an additional salient action effect (Exp. 1 and 2), or we presented 7-month-olds with videos of a mechanical claw performing a grasping action presented with a salient action effect (Exp. 3). The 6-month-olds showed tracking gaze behavior, and the 11-month-olds showed predictive gaze behavior, regardless of the action effect. However, the 7-month-olds showed predictive gaze behavior in the action-effect condition, but tracking gaze behavior in the no-action-effect condition and in the action-effect condition with a mechanical claw. The results therefore support the idea that salient action effects are especially important for infants' goal predictions from 7 months on, and that this facilitating influence of action effects is selective for the observation of human hands. KW - attention KW - eye movements KW - infants perception KW - mechanisms KW - origins Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240165 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 15 IS - 10 PB - Public Library of Science CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bürki-Foschini, Audrey Damaris A1 - Madec, Sylvain T1 - Picture-Word interference in language production studies BT - exploring the roles of attention and processing times JF - Journal of experimental psychology : Learning, memory, and cognition N2 - The picture-word interference paradigm (participants name target pictures while ignoring distractor words) is often used to model the planning processes involved in word production. The participants' naming times are delayed in the presence of a distractor (general interference). The size of this effect depends on the relationship between the target and distractor words. Distractors of the same semantic category create more interference (semantic interference), and distractors overlapping in phonology create less interference (phonological facilitation). The present study examined the relationships between these experimental effects, processing times, and attention in order to better understand the cognitive processes underlying participants' behavior in this paradigm. Participants named pictures with a superimposed line of Xs, semantically related distractors, phonologically related distractors, or unrelated distractors. General interference, semantic interference, and phonological facilitation effects were replicated. Distributional analyses revealed that general and semantic interference effects increase with naming times, while phonological facilitation decreases. The phonological facilitation and semantic interference effects were found to depend on the synchronicity in processing times between the planning of the picture's name and the processing of the distractor word. Finally, electroencephalographic power in the alpha band before stimulus onset varied with the position of the trial in the experiment and with repetition but did not predict the size of interference/facilitation effects. Taken together, these results suggest that experimental effects in the picture-word interference paradigm depend on processing times to both the target word and distractor word and that distributional patterns could partly reflect this dependency. KW - language production KW - picture-word interference KW - variability KW - attention KW - EEG alpha power Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001098 SN - 0278-7393 SN - 1939-1285 VL - 48 IS - 7 SP - 1019 EP - 1046 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cajar, Anke A1 - Schneeweiss, Paul A1 - Engbert, Ralf A1 - Laubrock, Jochen T1 - Coupling of attention and saccades when viewing scenes with central and peripheral degradation JF - Journal of vision N2 - Degrading real-world scenes in the central or the peripheral visual field yields a characteristic pattern: Mean saccade amplitudes increase with central and decrease with peripheral degradation. Does this pattern reflect corresponding modulations of selective attention? If so, the observed saccade amplitude pattern should reflect more focused attention in the central region with peripheral degradation and an attentional bias toward the periphery with central degradation. To investigate this hypothesis, we measured the detectability of peripheral (Experiment 1) or central targets (Experiment 2) during scene viewing when low or high spatial frequencies were gaze-contingently filtered in the central or the peripheral visual field. Relative to an unfiltered control condition, peripheral filtering induced a decrease of the detection probability for peripheral but not for central targets (tunnel vision). Central filtering decreased the detectability of central but not of peripheral targets. Additional post hoc analyses are compatible with the interpretation that saccade amplitudes and direction are computed in partial independence. Our experimental results indicate that task-induced modulations of saccade amplitudes reflect attentional modulations. KW - scene viewing KW - saccades KW - attention KW - gaze-contingent displays KW - spatial frequencies KW - tunnel vision Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1167/16.2.8 SN - 1534-7362 VL - 16 PB - Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cajar, Anke A1 - Schneeweiß, Paul A1 - Engbert, Ralf A1 - Laubrock, Jochen T1 - Coupling of attention and saccades when viewing scenes with central and peripheral degradation JF - Journal of Vision N2 - Degrading real-world scenes in the central or the peripheral visual field yields a characteristic pattern: Mean saccade amplitudes increase with central and decrease with peripheral degradation. Does this pattern reflect corresponding modulations of selective attention? If so, the observed saccade amplitude pattern should reflect more focused attention in the central region with peripheral degradation and an attentional bias toward the periphery with central degradation. To investigate this hypothesis, we measured the detectability of peripheral (Experiment 1) or central targets (Experiment 2) during scene viewing when low or high spatial frequencies were gaze-contingently filtered in the central or the peripheral visual field. Relative to an unfiltered control condition, peripheral filtering induced a decrease of the detection probability for peripheral but not for central targets (tunnel vision). Central filtering decreased the detectability of central but not of peripheral targets. Additional post hoc analyses are compatible with the interpretation that saccade amplitudes and direction are computed in partial independence. Our experimental results indicate that task-induced modulations of saccade amplitudes reflect attentional modulations. KW - scene viewing KW - saccades KW - attention KW - gaze-contingent displays KW - spatial frequencies KW - tunnel vision Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1167/16.2.8 SN - 1534-7362 VL - 16 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - ARVO CY - Rockville, Md. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chandra, Johan A1 - Krügel, André A1 - Engbert, Ralf T1 - Modulation of oculomotor control during reading of mirrored and inverted texts JF - Scientific Reports N2 - The interplay between cognitive and oculomotor processes during reading can be explored when the spatial layout of text deviates from the typical display. In this study, we investigate various eye-movement measures during reading of text with experimentally manipulated layout (word-wise and letter-wise mirrored-reversed text as well as inverted and scrambled text). While typical findings (e.g., longer mean fixation times, shorter mean saccades lengths) in reading manipulated texts compared to normal texts were reported in earlier work, little is known about changes of oculomotor targeting observed in within-word landing positions under the above text layouts. Here we carry out precise analyses of landing positions and find substantial changes in the so-called launch-site effect in addition to the expected overall slow-down of reading performance. Specifically, during reading of our manipulated text conditions with reversed letter order (against overall reading direction), we find a reduced launch-site effect, while in all other manipulated text conditions, we observe an increased launch-site effect. Our results clearly indicate that the oculomotor system is highly adaptive when confronted with unusual reading conditions. KW - human behaviour KW - psychology KW - eye-movement control KW - e-z reader KW - ideal-observer model KW - fixation locations KW - landing positions KW - saccade generation KW - cognitive-control KW - dynamical model KW - decision-theory KW - attention Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60833-6 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 10 PB - Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chandra, Johan A1 - Krügel, André A1 - Engbert, Ralf T1 - Experimental test of Bayesian saccade targeting under reversed reading direction JF - Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics N2 - During reading, rapid eye movements (saccades) shift the reader's line of sight from one word to another for high-acuity visual information processing. While experimental data and theoretical models show that readers aim at word centers, the eye-movement (oculomotor) accuracy is low compared to other tasks. As a consequence, distributions of saccadic landing positions indicate large (i) random errors and (ii) systematic over- and undershoot of word centers, which additionally depend on saccade lengths (McConkie et al.Visual Research, 28(10), 1107-1118,1988). Here we show that both error components can be simultaneously reduced by reading texts from right to left in German language (N= 32). We used our experimental data to test a Bayesian model of saccade planning. First, experimental data are consistent with the model. Second, the model makes specific predictions of the effects of the precision of prior and (sensory) likelihood. Our results suggest that it is a more precise sensory likelihood that can explain the reduction of both random and systematic error components. KW - eye movements and reading KW - Bayesian modeling KW - eye-movement control KW - model KW - fixation KW - attention KW - words KW - swift Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-019-01814-4 SN - 1943-393X SN - 1943-3921 VL - 82 SP - 1230 EP - 1240 PB - Springer CY - New York, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dolcos, Florin A1 - Katsumi, Yuta A1 - Moore, Matthew A1 - Berggren, Nick A1 - de Gelder, Beatrice A1 - Derakshan, Nazanin A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. A1 - Koster, Ernst H. W. A1 - Ladouceur, Cecile D. A1 - Okon-Singer, Hadas A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Neural correlates of emotion-attention interactions BT - From perception, learning, and memory to social cognition, individual differences, and training interventions JF - Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews N2 - Due to their ability to capture attention, emotional stimuli tend to benefit from enhanced perceptual processing, which can be helpful when such stimuli are task-relevant but hindering when they are task-irrelevant. Altered emotion-attention interactions have been associated with symptoms of affective disturbances, and emerging research focuses on improving emotion-attention interactions to prevent or treat affective disorders. In line with the Human Affectome Project's emphasis on linguistic components, we also analyzed the language used to describe attention-related aspects of emotion, and highlighted terms related to domains such as conscious awareness, motivational effects of attention, social attention, and emotion regulation. These terms were discussed within a broader review of available evidence regarding the neural correlates of (1) Emotion-Attention Interactions in Perception, (2) Emotion-Attention Interactions in Learning and Memory, (3) Individual Differences in Emotion-Attention Interactions, and (4) Training and Interventions to Optimize Emotion-Attention Interactions. This comprehensive approach enabled an integrative overview of the current knowledge regarding the mechanisms of emotion-attention interactions at multiple levels of analysis, and identification of emerging directions for future investigations. KW - emotion KW - attention KW - perception KW - learning and memory KW - individual differences KW - training interventions KW - psychophysiology KW - neuroimaging KW - affective neuroscience KW - health and well-being KW - linguistics Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.017 SN - 0149-7634 SN - 1873-7528 VL - 108 SP - 559 EP - 601 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ehlert, Antje A1 - Poltz, Nadine A1 - Quandte, Sabine A1 - Kohn-Henkel, Juliane A1 - Kucian, Karin A1 - Aster, Michael von A1 - Esser, Günter T1 - Taking a closer look: The relationship between pre-school domain general cognition and school mathematics achievement when controlling for intelligence JF - Journal of Intelligence N2 - Intelligence, as well as working memory and attention, affect the acquisition of mathematical competencies. This paper aimed to examine the influence of working memory and attention when taking different mathematical skills into account as a function of children’s intellectual ability. Overall, intelligence, working memory, attention and numerical skills were assessed twice in 1868 German pre-school children (t1, t2) and again at 2nd grade (t3). We defined three intellectual ability groups based on the results of intellectual assessment at t1 and t2. Group comparisons revealed significant differences between the three intellectual ability groups. Over time, children with low intellectual ability showed the lowest achievement in domain-general and numerical and mathematical skills compared to children of average intellectual ability. The highest achievement on the aforementioned variables was found for children of high intellectual ability. Additionally, path modelling revealed that, depending on the intellectual ability, different models of varying complexity could be generated. These models differed with regard to the relevance of the predictors (t2) and the future mathematical skills (t3). Causes and conclusions of these findings are discussed. KW - intellectual ability KW - intelligence KW - pre-school KW - mathematical development KW - school mathematics KW - longitudinal KW - numerical skills KW - working memory KW - attention Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence10030070 SN - 2079-3200 VL - 10 SP - 1 EP - 23 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz ET - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Engbert, Ralf A1 - Trukenbrod, Hans Arne A1 - Barthelme, Simon A1 - Wichmann, Felix A. T1 - Spatial statistics and attentional dynamics in scene viewing JF - Journal of vision N2 - In humans and in foveated animals visual acuity is highly concentrated at the center of gaze, so that choosing where to look next is an important example of online, rapid decision-making. Computational neuroscientists have developed biologically-inspired models of visual attention, termed saliency maps, which successfully predict where people fixate on average. Using point process theory for spatial statistics, we show that scanpaths contain, however, important statistical structure, such as spatial clustering on top of distributions of gaze positions. Here, we develop a dynamical model of saccadic selection that accurately predicts the distribution of gaze positions as well as spatial clustering along individual scanpaths. Our model relies on activation dynamics via spatially-limited (foveated) access to saliency information, and, second, a leaky memory process controlling the re-inspection of target regions. This theoretical framework models a form of context-dependent decision-making, linking neural dynamics of attention to behavioral gaze data. KW - scene perception KW - eye movements KW - attention KW - saccades KW - modeling KW - spatial statistics Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1167/15.1.14 SN - 1534-7362 VL - 15 IS - 1 PB - Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology CY - Rockville ER - TY - INPR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Knops, Andre T1 - Attentional cueing in numerical cognition T2 - Frontiers in psychology KW - attention KW - number line KW - SNARC effect KW - visual perception KW - response selection Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01381 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 5 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER -