title: Surprise attracts the eyes and binds the gaze.
abstract: In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in the effects that deviations from expectations have on cognitive processing and, in particular, on the deployment of attention. Previous evidence for a surprise-attention link had been based on indirect measures of attention allocation. Here we used eyetracking to directly observe the impact of a novel color on its unannounced first presentation, which we regarded as a surprise condition. The results show that the novel color was quickly responded to with an eye movement, and that gaze was not turned away for a considerable amount of time. These results are direct evidence that deviations from expectations bias attentional priorities and lead to enhanced processing of the deviating stimulus.
authors.affiliation: Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Bielefeld University, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany, gernot.horstmann@uni-bielefeld.de.
authors.forename: Gernot
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Horstmann
authors.forename: Arvid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herwig
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements; D005133:Eye Movements; D006801:Humans; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult