title: Spatial scale, rather than nature of task or locomotion, modulates the spatial reference frame of attention.
abstract: Visuospatial attention is strongly biased to locations that had frequently contained a search target before. However, the function of this bias depends on the reference frame in which attended locations are coded. Previous research has shown a striking difference between tasks administered on a computer monitor and those administered in a large environment, with the former inducing viewer-centered learning and the latter environment-centered learning. Why does environment-centered learning fail on a computer? Here, we tested 3 possibilities: differences in spatial scale, the nature of task, and locomotion may each influence the reference frame of attention. Participants searched for a target on a monitor placed flat on a stand. On each trial, they stood at a different location around the monitor. The target was frequently located in a fixed area of the monitor, but changes in participants' perspective rendered this area random relative to the participants. Under incidental learning conditions, participants failed to acquire environment-centered learning even when (a) the task and display resembled those of a large-scale task and (b) the search task required locomotion. The difficulty in inducing environment-centered learning on a computer underscores the egocentric nature of visual attention. It supports the idea that spatial scale modulates the reference frame of attention.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota.
authors: Yuhong V
authors: YV
authors: Jiang
authors: Department of Psychology, Ohio State University.
authors: Bo-Yeong
authors: BY
authors: Won
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013028:Space Perception; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult