Visual search in the (un)real world

Author(s):  
Tobit Kollenberg ◽  
Alexander Neumann ◽  
Dorothe Schneider ◽  
Tessa-Karina Tews ◽  
Thomas Hermann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Gwendolyn Rehrig ◽  
Reese A. Cullimore ◽  
John M. Henderson ◽  
Fernanda Ferreira

Abstract According to the Gricean Maxim of Quantity, speakers provide the amount of information listeners require to correctly interpret an utterance, and no more (Grice in Logic and conversation, 1975). However, speakers do tend to violate the Maxim of Quantity often, especially when the redundant information improves reference precision (Degen et al. in Psychol Rev 127(4):591–621, 2020). Redundant (non-contrastive) information may facilitate real-world search if it narrows the spatial scope under consideration, or improves target template specificity. The current study investigated whether non-contrastive modifiers that improve reference precision facilitate visual search in real-world scenes. In two visual search experiments, we compared search performance when perceptually relevant, but non-contrastive modifiers were included in the search instruction. Participants (NExp. 1 = 48, NExp. 2 = 48) searched for a unique target object following a search instruction that contained either no modifier, a location modifier (Experiment 1: on the top left, Experiment 2: on the shelf), or a color modifier (the black lamp). In Experiment 1 only, the target was located faster when the verbal instruction included either modifier, and there was an overall benefit of color modifiers in a combined analysis for scenes and conditions common to both experiments. The results suggest that violations of the Maxim of Quantity can facilitate search when the violations include task-relevant information that either augments the target template or constrains the search space, and when at least one modifier provides a highly reliable cue. Consistent with Degen et al. (2020), we conclude that listeners benefit from non-contrastive information that improves reference precision, and engage in rational reference comprehension. Significance statement This study investigated whether providing more information than someone needs to find an object in a photograph helps them to find that object more easily, even though it means they need to interpret a more complicated sentence. Before searching a scene, participants were either given information about where the object would be located in the scene, what color the object was, or were only told what object to search for. The results showed that providing additional information helped participants locate an object in an image more easily only when at least one piece of information communicated what part of the scene the object was in, which suggests that more information can be beneficial as long as that information is specific and helps the recipient achieve a goal. We conclude that people will pay attention to redundant information when it supports their task. In practice, our results suggest that instructions in other contexts (e.g., real-world navigation, using a smartphone app, prescription instructions, etc.) can benefit from the inclusion of what appears to be redundant information.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kosovicheva ◽  
Abla Alaoui-Soce ◽  
Jeremy Wolfe

Many real-world visual tasks involve searching for multiple instances of a target (e.g., picking ripe berries). What strategies do observers use when collecting items in this type of search? Do they wait to finish collecting the current item before starting to look for the next target, or do they search ahead for future targets? We utilized behavioral and eye tracking measures to distinguish between these two possibilities in foraging search. Experiment 1 used a color wheel technique in which observers searched for T shapes among L shapes while all items independently cycled through a set of colors. Trials were abruptly terminated, and observers reported both the color and location of the next target that they intended to click. Using observers’ color reports to infer target-finding times, we demonstrate that observers found the next item before the time of the click on the current target. We validated these results in Experiment 2 by recording fixation locations around the time of each click. Experiment 3 utilized a different procedure, in which all items were intermittently occluded during the trial. We then calculated a distribution of when targets were visible around the time of each click, allowing us to infer when they were most likely found. In a fourth and final experiment, observers indicated the locations of multiple future targets after the search was abruptly terminated. Together, our results provide converging evidence to demonstrate that observers can find the next target before collecting the current target and can typically forage 1-2 items ahead.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. A. Bendall ◽  
Aisha Mohamed ◽  
Catherine Thompson
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
pp. 026461962091525
Author(s):  
Jonathan Waddington ◽  
Jade S Pickering ◽  
Timothy Hodgson

Five table-top tasks were developed to test the visual search ability of children and young people in a real-world context, and to assess the transfer of training-related improvements in visual search on computerised tasks to real-world activities. Each task involved searching for a set of target objects among distracting objects on a table-top. Performance on the Table-top Visual Search Ability Test for Children (TVSAT-C) was measured as the time spent searching for targets divided by the number of targets found. A total of 108 typically developing children (3–11 years old) and eight children with vision impairment (7–12 years old) participated in the study. A significant correlation was found between log-transformed age and log-transformed performance ( R2 = .65, p = 4 × 10−26) in our normative sample, indicating a monomial power law relationship between age and performance with an exponent of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] We calculated age-dependent percentiles and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated the third percentile as the optimal cut-off for detecting a visual search deficit, giving a specificity of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and sensitivity of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] for the test. Further studies are required to calculate measures of reliability and external validity, to confirm sensitivity for visual search deficits, and to investigate the most appropriate response modes for participants with conditions that affect manual dexterity. In addition, more work is needed to assess construct validity where semantic knowledge is required that younger children may not have experience with. We have made the protocol and age-dependent normative data available for those interested in using the test in research or practice, and to illustrate the smooth developmental trajectory of visual search ability during childhood.


2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 681-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hwang ◽  
M. Pomplun
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1219
Author(s):  
Jing PAN ◽  
Huiyuan ZHANG ◽  
Donghao CHEN ◽  
Hongge XU

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