scholarly journals Foraging tempo: Human run patterns in multiple-target search are constrained by the rate of successive responses

2020 ◽  
pp. 174702182096164
Author(s):  
Ian M Thornton ◽  
Tram TN Nguyen ◽  
Árni Kristjánsson
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Multiple Target ◽  
Target Search ◽  
Single Feature ◽  
Individual Strategies ◽  
Human Foraging ◽  
Foraging Task

Human foraging tasks are beginning to provide new insights into the roles of vision, attention, and working memory during complex, multiple-target search. Here, we test the idea that “foraging tempo”—the rate of successive target selections—helps determine patterns of behaviour in these tasks. Previously, we established that the majority of target selections during unconstrained foraging happen at regular, rapid intervals, forming the “cruise phase” of a foraging trial. Furthermore, we noted that when the temporal interval between cruise phase responses was longer, the tendency to switch between target categories increased. To directly explore this relationship, we modified our standard iPad foraging task so that observers had to synchronise each response with an auditory metronome signal. Across trials, we increased the tempo and examined how this changed patterns of foraging when targets were defined either by a single feature or by a conjunction of features. The results were very clear. Increasing tempo systematically decreased the tendency for participants to switch between target categories. Although this was true for both feature and conjunction trials, there was also evidence that time constraints and target complexity interacted. As in our previous work, we also observed clear individual differences in how participants responded to changes in task difficulty. Overall, our results show that foraging tempo does influence the way participants respond, and we suggest this parameter may prove to be useful in further explorations of group and individual strategies during multiple-target search.

scholarly journals Foraging Tempo: Human run patterns in multiple target search are constrained by the rate of successive responses.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Michael Thornton ◽  
Tram T. N. Nguyen ◽  
Arni Kristjansson
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Multiple Target ◽  
Target Search ◽  
Single Feature ◽  
Individual Strategies ◽  
Human Foraging ◽  
Foraging Task

Human foraging tasks are beginning to provide new insights into the roles of vision, attention and working memory during complex search, particularly with respect to individual differences. Here, we test the idea that “foraging tempo” -- the rate of successive target selections -- helps determine patterns of behaviour in these tasks. Previously, we established that the majority of target selections during unconstrained foraging happen at regular, rapid intervals, forming the “cruise phase” of a foraging trial. Furthermore, we noted that when the temporal interval between cruise phase responses was longer, the tendency to switch between target categories increased. To directly explore this relationship, we modified our standard iPad foraging task so that observers had to synchronize each response with an auditory metronome signal. Across trials, we increased the tempo and examined how this changed patterns of foraging when targets were defined either by a single feature or by a conjunction of features. The results were very clear. Increasing tempo systematically decreased the tendency for participants to switch between target categories. While this was true for both feature and conjunction trials, there was also evidence that time constraints and target complexity interacted. As in our previous work, we also observed clear individual differences in how participants responded to changes in task difficulty. Overall, our results show that foraging tempo does influence the way participants respond, and we suggest this parameter may prove be useful in further explorations of group and individual strategies during multiple target search.

scholarly journals Tic Toc: How working memory load affects intelligence test performance under different time constraints

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Lena Schubert ◽  
Christoph Löffler ◽  
Johanna Hein ◽  
Pauline Schröer ◽  
Antonia Teuber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Intelligence Test ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Causal Nature ◽  
The Relationship

There is a broad consensus that individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) are strongly related to individual differences in intelligence. However, correlational studies do not allow conclusions about the causal nature of the relationship between WMC and fluid intelligence. While research on the cognitive basis of intelligence typically assumes that simpler lower-level cognitive processes contribute to individual differences in higher-order reasoning processes, a reversed causality or a third variable giving rise to two intrinsically uncorrelated variables may exist. In the present study, we investigated the causal nature of the relationship between WMC and intelligence by assessing the experimental effect of working memory load on intelligence test performance. Moreover, we tested if the effect of working memory load on intelligence test performance increased under time constraints, as previous studies have shown that the association between the two constructs increases if intelligence tests are administered with a strict time limit. We show in a sample of 65 participants that working memory load impaired intelligence test performance, but that this experimental effect was not affected by time constraints, which suggests that the experimental manipulations of working memory capacity and processing time did not affect the same underlying cognitive process. Our results confirm that WMC causally contributes to higher-order reasoning processes. Remarkably, we found that the introduction of time constraints completely nullified the advantage of more intelligent participants in matrix reasoning test performance, which emphasizes the role of processing speed as an elementary cognitive process parameter underlying individual differences in intelligence.

Moving foraging into three dimensions: Feature- versus conjunction-based foraging in virtual reality

2020 ◽  
pp. 174702182093702
Author(s):  
Tómas Kristjánsson ◽  
Dejan Draschkow ◽  
Ágúst Pálsson ◽  
Davíð Haraldsson ◽  
Pétur Örn Jónsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Bottom Part ◽  
Human Attention ◽  
Single Feature ◽  
3D Environments ◽  
Human Foraging ◽  
Foraging Task

Visual attention evolved in a three-dimensional (3D) world, yet studies on human attention in three dimensions are sparse. Here we present findings from a human foraging study in immersive 3D virtual reality. We used a foraging task introduced in Kristjánsson et al. to examine how well their findings generalise to more naturalistic settings. The second goal was to examine what effect the motion of targets and distractors has on inter-target times (ITTs), run patterns, and foraging organisation. Observers foraged for 50 targets among 50 distractors in four different conditions. Targets were distinguished from distractors by either a single feature (feature foraging) or a conjunction of features (conjunction foraging). Furthermore, those conditions were performed both with static and moving targets and distractors. Our results replicate previous foraging studies in many aspects, with constant ITTs during a “cruise-phase” within foraging trials and response time peaks at the end of foraging trials. Some key differences emerged, however, such as more frequent switches between target types during conjunction foraging than previously seen and a lack of clear mid-peaks during conjunction foraging, possibly reflecting that differences between feature and conjunction processing are smaller within 3D environments. Observers initiated their foraging in the bottom part of the visual field and motion did not have much of an effect on selection times between different targets (ITTs) or run behaviour patterns except for the end-peaks. Our results cast new light upon visual attention in 3D environments and highlight how 3D virtual reality studies can provide important extensions to two-dimensional studies of visual attention.

scholarly journals Moving foraging into 3D: Feature versus conjunction-based foraging in virtual reality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arni Kristjansson ◽  
Dejan Draschkow ◽  
Tómas Kristjansson ◽  
Ágúst Pálsson ◽  
Pétur Örn Jónsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Bottom Part ◽  
Human Attention ◽  
Single Feature ◽  
3D Environments ◽  
Human Foraging ◽  
Foraging Task

Visual attention evolved in a three-dimensional world, yet studies on human attention in three- dimensions are sparse. Here we present findings from a human foraging study in immersive three-dimensional virtual reality. We used a foraging task introduced in Kristjánsson et al. (2014) to examine how well their findings generalize to more naturalistic settings. A second goal was to examine what effect the motion of targets and distractors has on intertarget times, run patterns and foraging organization. Observers foraged for 50 targets among 50 distractors in four different conditions. Targets were distinguished from distractors by either a single feature (feature foraging) or a conjunction of features (conjunction foraging). Further, those conditions were performed both with static and moving targets and distractors. Our results replicate previous foraging studies in many aspects, with constant intertarget times during a “cruise-phase” within foraging trials and response time peaks at the end of foraging trials. Some key differences emerged, however, such as more frequent switches between target types during conjunction foraging than previously seen and a lack of clear mid-peaks during conjunction foraging, possibly reflecting that differences between feature and conjunction processing are smaller within 3D environments. Observers initiated their foraging in the bottom part of the visual field and motion did not have much of an effect on selection times between different targets (intertarget times, ITT’s) or run behaviour patterns except for the end-peaks. Our results cast new light upon visual attention in three-dimensional environments and highlight how 3D virtual reality studies can provide important extensions to two-dimensional studies of visual attention.

Individual differences in working memory capacity are reflected in different ERP and EEG patterns to task difficulty

2015 ◽  
Vol 1616 ◽  
pp. 146-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Dong ◽  
Lynne M. Reder ◽  
Yuan Yao ◽  
Yuqiu Liu ◽  
Feiyan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity

Skipping Breakfast Affects the Early Steps of Cognitive Processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-118
Author(s):  
Andrés Antonio González-Garrido ◽  
Jacobo José Brofman-Epelbaum ◽  
Fabiola Reveca Gómez-Velázquez ◽  
Sebastián Agustín Balart-Sánchez ◽  
Julieta Ramos-Loyo
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Brain Functioning ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Electrical Brain Activity ◽  
Skipping Breakfast

Abstract. It has been generally accepted that skipping breakfast adversely affects cognition, mainly disturbing the attentional processes. However, the effects of short-term fasting upon brain functioning are still unclear. We aimed to evaluate the effect of skipping breakfast on cognitive processing by studying the electrical brain activity of young healthy individuals while performing several working memory tasks. Accordingly, the behavioral results and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) of 20 healthy university students (10 males) were obtained and compared through analysis of variances (ANOVAs), during the performance of three n-back working memory (WM) tasks in two morning sessions on both normal (after breakfast) and 12-hour fasting conditions. Significantly fewer correct responses were achieved during fasting, mainly affecting the higher WM load task. In addition, there were prolonged reaction times with increased task difficulty, regardless of breakfast intake. ERP showed a significant voltage decrement for N200 and P300 during fasting, while the amplitude of P200 notably increased. The results suggest skipping breakfast disturbs earlier cognitive processing steps, particularly attention allocation, early decoding in working memory, and stimulus evaluation, and this effect increases with task difficulty.

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