Looking at the center of the targets helps multiple object tracking.
The ability to move our gaze to locations of interest facilitates interactions in everyday life. Where do participants direct gaze when multiple locations are of interest simultaneously? We previously demonstrated that, when tracking several moving targets amidst distractors in a multiple object tracking (MOT) task, participants primarily looked at a central point in between the targets (H. M. Fehd & A. E. Seiffert, 2008). This strategy of center-looking is in contrast to a target-looking strategy where participants would saccade from target to target. Here we investigated what factors influence the use of center-looking as well as its effectiveness. By decreasing object speed, we determined that center-looking is not a result of avoiding costly eye movements during tracking. Decreasing object size showed that peripheral visibility is necessary for tracking, but that center-looking continues up to the limits of peripheral visibility. Further analysis revealed that participants often engaged in both target-looking and center-looking by switching gaze from the center to targets and back again. Directly comparing participants' performance when they either did or did not include center-looking along with target-looking revealed that center-looking facilitates tracking performance. These results suggest that there is value in looking at the center that relates directly to the process of tracking multiple objects.
Fehd
Hilda M
HM
Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37240, USA. hilda.m.fehd@vanderbilt.edu
Seiffert
Adriane E
AE
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2005 Jun;31(3):592-607
15982133
Br J Psychol. 2006 Feb;97(Pt 1):31-50
16464286
Psychon Bull Rev. 2008 Apr;15(2):390-7
18488657
Nature. 1994 Oct 6;371(6497):511-3
7935763
Exp Brain Res. 2007 May;179(3):427-42
17171337
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1992 Sep 29;337(1281):331-8; discussion 338-9
1359587
Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2007 Sep;60(9):1216-26
17676554
Cognition. 2008 Jul;108(1):201-9
18096148
Trends Cogn Sci. 2005 Jul;9(7):349-54
15953754
Neuroscience. 2008 Oct 28;156(4):801-18
18786618
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2005 Apr;31(2):235-47
15826227
Exp Neurol. 1966 Sep;16(1):65-79
5923485
J Vis. 2009 Jan 16;9(1):18.1-24
19271888
Vision Res. 2003 Jul;43(15):1637-53
12798146
Spat Vis. 1988;3(3):179-97
3153671
Percept Psychophys. 2007 May;69(4):567-77
17727110
Vision Res. 1986;26(9):1401-16
3303665
Vision Res. 2007 Jun;47(14):1907-23
17499833
Psychon Bull Rev. 2008 Aug;15(4):802-8
18792507
Cogn Psychol. 2001 Nov;43(3):171-216
11689021
J Vis. 2005 Mar 07;5(3):177-93
15929644
J Vis. 2003;3(1):49-63
12678625
Vision Res. 2008 Sep;48(20):2070-89
18513781
Psychon Bull Rev. 2006 Jun;13(3):516-23
17048740
Vision Res. 1978;18(10):1297-303
726271
Cogn Psychol. 2006 Jun;52(4):346-68
16442088
J Vis. 2007 Dec 19;7(14):16.1-20
18217811
Cogn Psychol. 1992 Jul;24(3):295-340
1516359
Cereb Cortex. 1995 Sep-Oct;5(5):470-81
8547793
Vision Res. 1975 Jun;15(6):719-22
1138489
Spat Vis. 1997;10(4):437-42
9176953
J Vis. 2009 Jul 14;9(7):9
19761324
J Vis. 2007 Oct 30;7(13):14.1-10
17997642
Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2006 Jun;59(6):1101-16
16885145
Vision Res. 2001;41(25-26):3559-65
11718795
J Opt Soc Am A. 1991 Feb;8(2):440-9
2007919
Science. 1992 Jan 3;255(5040):90-2
1553535
Spat Vis. 1997;10(4):433-6
9176952
Cognition. 2008 Jul;108(1):1-25
18281028
Vision Res. 1974 Oct;14(10):997-1011
4432400
Psychol Bull. 1998 Nov;124(3):372-422
9849112
Perception. 1999;28(11):1311-28
10755142
Cognition. 2001 Jun;80(1-2):127-58
11245842
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 1981 Dec;7(6):1247-57
6458649
Vision Res. 1998 Mar;38(6):895-909
9624439