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Jin P, Ge Z, Fan T. Team ball sport experience minimizes sex difference in visual attention. Front Psychol 2022; 13:987672. [PMID: 36312175 PMCID: PMC9606817 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.987672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Simultaneous tracking of the position of the ball and player locations and activities places high demands on visual attention in team ball sport athletes. Owing to their extensive sports training, these athletes may be expected to exhibit visual attention skills superior to non-athletes; however, the results of studies examining this are inconsistent. Thus, the first aim of this study was to assess the impact of participating in a team ball sport on visual attention. There is limited empirical evidence indicating a sex difference in visual attention, and few studies have reported on visual attention in male and female athletes. Thus, the second aim of this study was to determine whether team ball sport experience affected any sex differences in visual attention. In total, 44 highly skilled basketball players—22 men (mean age: 21.86 ± 2.15 years) with a mean (SD) of 8.46 (2.92) years training experience and 22 women (mean age: 21.32 ± 1.58 years) with a mean (SD) of 8.22 (2.44) years of training experience—and 44 non-athletic undergraduate college students—22 men (mean age: 21.62 ± 1.88 years) and 22 women (mean age: 21.55 ± 1.72 years)—were recruited and completed this study. Visual attention was measured by using the multiple object tracking (MOT) task. Skilled basketball players showed superior tracking accuracy to non-athletic college students on the MOT task. A significant sex difference was found only among the non-athletic college students, with better tracking accuracy for men than for women on the MOT task. By contrast, no significant sex difference was observed among the skilled basketball players for tracking accuracy on the MOT task. These findings indicated that team ball sport training may enhance visual attention as assessed by tracking accuracy. Given that the male and female basketball players in this study had similar training experience and game performance demands, long-term team ball sport experience appeared to minimize the sex difference in visual attention found among non-athletic students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Jin
- Department of Physical Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Peng Jin,
| | - Zhigang Ge
- Department of Physical Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
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2
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Chakraborty A, Tran TT, Silva AE, Giaschi D, Thompson B. Continuous theta burst TMS of area MT+ impairs attentive motion tracking. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 54:7289-7300. [PMID: 34591329 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Attentive motion tracking deficits measured using multiple object tracking (MOT) tasks have been identified in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders such as amblyopia and autism. These deficits are often attributed to the abnormal development of high-level attentional networks. However, neuroimaging evidence from amblyopia suggests that reduced MOT performance can be explained by impaired function in motion-sensitive area MT+ alone. To test the hypothesis that a subtle disruption of MT+ function could cause MOT impairment, we assessed whether continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) of MT+ influenced MOT task accuracy in individuals with normal vision. The MOT stimulus consisted of four target and four distractor dots and was presented at ±10° eccentricity (right/left hemifield). fMRI-guided cTBS was applied to left MT+. Participants (n = 13, age: 27 ± 3) attended separate active and sham cTBS sessions where the MOT task was completed before, 5-min post- and 30-min post-cTBS. Active cTBS significantly impaired MOT task accuracy relative to baseline for the right (stimulated) hemifield 5-min (10 ± 2% reduction) and 30-min (14 ± 3% reduction) post-stimulation. No impairment occurred within the left (control) hemifield after active cTBS or for either hemifield after sham cTBS. These results highlight the importance of lower level motion processing for MOT, suggesting that a minor disruption of MT+ function alone is sufficient to cause a deficit in MOT performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arijit Chakraborty
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.,Chicago College of Optometry, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Illinois, USA
| | - Tiffany T Tran
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrew E Silva
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Deborah Giaschi
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia/B.C. Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Benjamin Thompson
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.,Centre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR), Hong Kong, China.,Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Yeomans MA, Phillips B, Dalecki M, Hondzinski JM. Eye movement influences on coupled and decoupled eye-hand coordination tasks. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:2477-2488. [PMID: 34115166 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06138-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Visually guided reaching precision and accuracy depend on the level of coupling between movements of the eyes and hand. In the present study, participants performed central fixations and either saccadic or smooth pursuit eye movements during fast and accurate reaching tasks involving eye-hand coupling and decoupling to better understand type of eye movement influence over upper limb control. Some eye-hand coupling and decoupling tasks also included hand reversals, where the hand moves away from the target to direct a cursor toward the target to account for various levels of hand-cursor and eye-cursor coupling. Regardless of eye-movement type, eye-hand-cursor coupling produced an endpoint accuracy advantage over decoupling. Use of hand reversal decreased peak speed and increased response time of the hand, whether considering fixation or a given eye movement. Use of smooth pursuit slowed hand movements relative to saccades, yet improved endpoint accuracy. Compared to central fixations, using smooth pursuit also slowed hand movements, while using saccades decreased, thus improved, hand reaction times. Data suggest an advantage, when using smooth pursuit to track the hand movement for the greatest endpoint accuracy, an advantage when using saccades for the fastest movements, and an eye-hand coupling advantage when using saccades for the shortest reactions. Researchers should provide clear eye-movement instructions for participants and/or monitor the eyes when assessing similar upper limb control to account for possible differences in eye movements used. Moreover, the type of eye movement chosen for participants should correspond to the primary goal of the task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Yeomans
- School of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, 1246 Pleasant Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
- Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Tennessee at Martin, Elam Center, Martin, TN, 38237, USA
| | - Brandon Phillips
- School of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, 1246 Pleasant Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
| | - Marc Dalecki
- School of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, 1246 Pleasant Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
| | - Jan M Hondzinski
- School of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, 1246 Pleasant Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
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Wang Y, Vul E. The role of kinematic properties in multiple object tracking. J Vis 2021; 21:22. [PMID: 33769442 PMCID: PMC7998010 DOI: 10.1167/jov.21.3.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
People commonly track objects moving in complex natural displays and their performance in the multiple object tracking paradigm has been used to study such visual attention for more than three decades. Given the theoretical and practical importance of object tracking, it is critical to understand how people solve the correspondence problem to track objects; however, it remains unclear what information people use to achieve this feat. In particular, although people can track multiple moving objects based on their positions, there is ambiguity about whether people can track objects via higher order kinematic information, such as velocity. We designed a paradigm in which position was rendered uninformative to directly examine whether people could use higher order kinematic information to track multiple objects. We find that people can track via velocity, but not acceleration, even though observers can reliably detect the acceleration cue that they cannot use for tracking. Furthermore, we show a capacity constraint on using higher order kinematic information—people perform worse when required to use velocity to resolve correspondence for multiple object pairs simultaneously. Together, our results suggest that, although people can use higher order kinematic information for object tracking, precise higher order kinematic information is not freely available from the early visual system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.,
| | - Edward Vul
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.,
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Crnovrsanin T, Chandrasegaran S, Ma KL. Staged Animation Strategies for Online Dynamic Networks. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2021; 27:539-549. [PMID: 33074816 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2020.3030385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Dynamic networks-networks that change over time-can be categorized into two types: offline dynamic networks, where all states of the network are known, and online dynamic networks, where only the past states of the network are known. Research on staging animated transitions in dynamic networks has focused more on offline data, where rendering strategies can take into account past and future states of the network. Rendering online dynamic networks is a more challenging problem since it requires a balance between timeliness for monitoring tasks-so that the animations do not lag too far behind the events-and clarity for comprehension tasks-to minimize simultaneous changes that may be difficult to follow. To illustrate the challenges placed by these requirements, we explore three strategies to stage animations for online dynamic networks: time-based, event-based, and a new hybrid approach that we introduce by combining the advantages of the first two. We illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy in representing low- and high-throughput data and conduct a user study involving monitoring and comprehension of dynamic networks. We also conduct a follow-up, think-aloud study combining monitoring and comprehension with experts in dynamic network visualization. Our findings show that animation staging strategies that emphasize comprehension do better for participant response times and accuracy. However, the notion of "comprehension" is not always clear when it comes to complex changes in highly dynamic networks, requiring some iteration in staging that the hybrid approach affords. Based on our results, we make recommendations for balancing event-based and time-based parameters for our hybrid approach.
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Aminihajibashi S, Hagen T, Andreassen OA, Laeng B, Espeseth T. The effects of cognitive abilities and task demands on tonic and phasic pupil sizes. Biol Psychol 2020; 156:107945. [PMID: 32889001 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies on individual differences in pupil size of healthy individuals and their relation to performance have been inconclusive. Using a novel approach, we tested the effect of general cognitive abilities and level of task performance on pretrial baseline and task-evoked pupil (TEP) sizes (N = 116) while we manipulated the level of task demands using a multiple object tracking task. Results did not reveal an effect of general cognitive abilities, estimated by working memory capacity and gF scores, on either baseline or TEP sizes. In contrast, we found an interaction in TEP sizes between level of overall MOT performance and task demands. We propose that individual differences in TEP sizes are related to state-specific level of task performance and task demands, probably in combination with other factors like age, personality traits, and state-specific level of motivation and arousal. We also suggest methodological confounds that may cause the previous inconclusive findings.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thomas Hagen
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- NORMENT Centre, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Norway; NORMENT Centre, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Bruno Laeng
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Thomas Espeseth
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Bjørknes College, Lovisenberggata 13, 0456 Oslo, Norway
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Mäki-Marttunen V, Hagen T, Laeng B, Espeseth T. Distinct Neural Mechanisms Meet Challenges in Dynamic Visual Attention due to Either Load or Object Spacing. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:65-84. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
When engaged in dynamic visuospatial tasks, the brain copes with perceptual and cognitive processing challenges. During multiple-object tracking (MOT), the number of objects to be tracked (i.e., load) imposes attentional demands, but so does spatial interference from irrelevant objects (i.e., close encounters). Presently, it is not clear whether the effect of load on accuracy solely depends on the number of close encounters. If so, the same cognitive and physiological mechanisms deal with increasing load by preparing for and dealing with spatial interference. However, this has never been directly tested. Such knowledge is important to understand the neurophysiology of dynamic visual attention and resolve conflicting views within visual cognition concerning sources of capacity limitations. We varied the processing challenge in MOT task in two ways: the number of targets and the minimum spatial proximity between targets and distractors. In a first experiment, we measured task-induced pupil dilations and saccades during MOT. In a separate cohort, we measured fMRI activity. In both cohorts, increased load and close encounters (i.e., close spatial proximity) led to reduced accuracy in an additive manner. Load was associated with pupil dilations, whereas close encounters were not. Activity in dorsal attentional areas and frequency of saccades were proportionally larger both with higher levels of load and close encounters. Close encounters recruited additionally ventral attentional areas that may reflect orienting mechanisms. The activity in two brainstem nuclei, ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra and locus coeruleus, showed clearly dissociated patterns. Our results constitute convergent evidence indicating that different mechanisms underlie processing challenges due to load and object spacing.
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HU L, SU J, WEI L, ZHANG X. The grouping effect of common fate in multiple object tracking. ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA SINICA 2018. [DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1041.2018.01235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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9
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Focus+context grouping for animated transitions. JOURNAL OF VISUAL LANGUAGES AND COMPUTING 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jvlc.2018.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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10
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Wang Y, Archambault D, Scheidegger CE, Qu H. A Vector Field Design Approach to Animated Transitions. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2018; 24:2487-2500. [PMID: 28910773 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2017.2750689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Animated transitions can be effective in explaining and exploring a small number of visualizations where there are drastic changes in the scene over a short interval of time. This is especially true if data elements cannot be visually distinguished by other means. Current research in animated transitions has mainly focused on linear transitions (all elements follow straight line paths) or enhancing coordinated motion through bundling of linear trajectories. In this paper, we introduce animated transition design, a technique to build smooth, non-linear transitions for clustered data with either minimal or no user involvement. The technique is flexible and simple to implement, and has the additional advantage that it explicitly enhances coordinated motion and can avoid crowding, which are both important factors to support object tracking in a scene. We investigate its usability, provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of this technique through metric evaluations and user study and discuss limitations and future directions.
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11
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Cooke JRH, ter Horst AC, van Beers RJ, Medendorp WP. Effect of depth information on multiple-object tracking in three dimensions: A probabilistic perspective. PLoS Comput Biol 2017; 13:e1005554. [PMID: 28727743 PMCID: PMC5519009 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many daily situations require us to track multiple objects and people. This ability has traditionally been investigated in observers tracking objects in a plane. This simplification of reality does not address how observers track objects when targets move in three dimensions. Here, we study how observers track multiple objects in 2D and 3D while manipulating the average speed of the objects and the average distance between them. We show that performance declines as speed increases and distance decreases and that overall tracking accuracy is always higher in 3D than in 2D. The effects of distance and dimensionality interact to produce a more than additive improvement in performance during tracking in 3D compared to 2D. We propose an ideal observer model that uses the object dynamics and noisy observations to track the objects. This model provides a good fit to the data and explains the key findings of our experiment as originating from improved inference of object identity by adding the depth dimension. Many daily life situations require us to track objects that are in motion. In the laboratory, this multiple object tracking problem is classically studied with objects moving on a two-dimensional screen, but in the real world objects typically move in three dimensions. Here we show that, despite the complexity of seeing in depth, observers track multiple objects better when they move in 3D than 2D. A probabilistic inference model explains this by showing that the association of noisy visual signals to the objects that caused them is less ambiguous when depth cues are available. This highlights the role that depth cues play in our everyday ability to track objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R. H. Cooke
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Arjan C. ter Horst
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Robert J. van Beers
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, MOVE Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - W. Pieter Medendorp
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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12
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Studying visual attention using the multiple object tracking paradigm: A tutorial review. Atten Percept Psychophys 2017; 79:1255-1274. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-017-1338-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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13
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Masutomi K, Barascud N, Kashino M, McDermott JH, Chait M. Sound segregation via embedded repetition is robust to inattention. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2015; 42:386-400. [PMID: 26480248 PMCID: PMC4763252 DOI: 10.1037/xhp0000147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The segregation of sound sources from the mixture of sounds that enters the ear is a core capacity of human hearing, but the extent to which this process is dependent on attention remains unclear. This study investigated the effect of attention on the ability to segregate sounds via repetition. We utilized a dual task design in which stimuli to be segregated were presented along with stimuli for a "decoy" task that required continuous monitoring. The task to assess segregation presented a target sound 10 times in a row, each time concurrent with a different distractor sound. McDermott, Wrobleski, and Oxenham (2011) demonstrated that repetition causes the target sound to be segregated from the distractors. Segregation was queried by asking listeners whether a subsequent probe sound was identical to the target. A control task presented similar stimuli but probed discrimination without engaging segregation processes. We present results from 3 different decoy tasks: a visual multiple object tracking task, a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) digit encoding task, and a demanding auditory monitoring task. Load was manipulated by using high- and low-demand versions of each decoy task. The data provide converging evidence of a small effect of attention that is nonspecific, in that it affected the segregation and control tasks to a similar extent. In all cases, segregation performance remained high despite the presence of a concurrent, objectively demanding decoy task. The results suggest that repetition-based segregation is robust to inattention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keiko Masutomi
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology
| | | | - Makio Kashino
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology
| | - Josh H McDermott
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Scimeca JM, Franconeri SL. Selecting and tracking multiple objects. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2014; 6:109-118. [DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2013] [Revised: 06/20/2014] [Accepted: 11/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jason M. Scimeca
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences; Brown University; Providence RI USA
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Legault I, Allard R, Faubert J. Healthy older observers show equivalent perceptual-cognitive training benefits to young adults for multiple object tracking. Front Psychol 2013; 4:323. [PMID: 23761025 PMCID: PMC3674476 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2012] [Accepted: 05/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The capacity to process complex dynamic scenes is of critical importance in real life. For instance, traveling through a crowd while avoiding collisions and maintaining orientation and good motor control requires fluent and continuous perceptual-cognitive processing. It is well documented that effects of healthy aging can influence perceptual-cognitive processes (Faubert, 2002) and that the efficiency of such processes can improve with training even for older adults (Richards et al., 2006). Here we assess the capacity of older participants to improve their tracking speed thresholds in a dynamic, virtual reality environment. Results show that this capacity is significantly affected by healthy aging but that perceptual-cognitive training can significantly reduce age-related effects in older individuals, who show an identical learning function to younger healthy adults. Data support the notion that learning in healthy older persons is maintained for processing complex dynamic scenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Legault
- Visual Psychophysics and Perception Laboratory, School of Optometry, Université de Montréal , Montreal, QC , Canada
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16
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Howe PDL, Holcombe AO, Lapierre MD, Cropper SJ. Visually Tracking and Localizing Expanding and Contracting Objects. Perception 2013; 42:1281-300. [DOI: 10.1068/p7635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The maintenance of attention on moving objects is required for cognition to reliably engage with the visual world. Theories of object tracking need to explain on which patterns of visual stimulation one can easily maintain attention and on which patterns one cannot. A previous study has shown that it is easier to track rigid objects than objects that expand and contract along their direction of motion, in a manner that resembles a substance pouring from one location to another (vanMarle and Scholl 2003 Psychological Science14 498–504). Here we investigate six possible explanations for this finding and find evidence supporting two of them. Our results show that, first, objects that expand and contract tend to overlap and crowd each other more, and this increases tracking difficulty. Second, expansion and contraction make it harder to localize objects, even when there is only a single target to attend to, and this may also increase tracking difficulty. Currently, there is no theory of object tracking that can account for the second finding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piers D L Howe
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | | | - Mark D Lapierre
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Simon J Cropper
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
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