Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 64-75 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics |
| Volume | 84 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 2 Nov 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2022 |
Abstract
Abstract: Human attention is strongly attracted by direct gaze and sudden onset motion. The sudden direct-gaze effect refers to the processing advantage for targets appearing on peripheral faces that suddenly establish eye contact. Here, we investigate the necessity of social information for attention capture by (sudden onset) ostensive cues. Six experiments involving 204 participants applied (1) naturalistic faces, (2) arrows, (3) schematic eyes, (4) naturalistic eyes, or schematic facial configurations (5) without or (6) with head turn to an attention-capture paradigm. Trials started with two stimuli oriented towards the observer and two stimuli pointing into the periphery. Simultaneous to target presentation, one direct stimulus changed to averted and one averted stimulus changed to direct, yielding a 2 × 2 factorial design with direction and motion cues being absent or present. We replicated the (sudden) direct-gaze effect for photographic faces, but found no corresponding effects in Experiments 2–6. Hence, a holistic and socially meaningful facial context seems vital for attention capture by direct gaze. Statement of significance: The present study highlights the significance of context information for social attention. Our findings demonstrate that the direct-gaze effect, that is, the prioritization of direct gaze over averted gaze, critically relies on the presentation of a meaningful holistic and naturalistic facial context. This pattern of results is evidence in favor of early effects of surrounding social information on attention capture by direct gaze.
Keywords
- Attention capture, Direct gaze, Face perception, Social cognition, Social cues, Social interaction
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychology(all)
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- Language and Linguistics
- Neuroscience(all)
- Sensory Systems
- Social Sciences(all)
- Linguistics and Language
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, Vol. 84, No. 1, 01.2022, p. 64-75.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - From eye to arrow
T2 - Attention capture by direct gaze requires more than just the eyes
AU - Breil, Christina
AU - Huestegge, Lynn
AU - Böckler, Anne
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Emmy Noether Programme of the German Research Foundation (grant number BO 4962/1-1). We thank Jason Tipples, Sara McCrackin, and one anonymous reviewer for their constructive suggestions that helped us to strengthen our article.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Abstract: Human attention is strongly attracted by direct gaze and sudden onset motion. The sudden direct-gaze effect refers to the processing advantage for targets appearing on peripheral faces that suddenly establish eye contact. Here, we investigate the necessity of social information for attention capture by (sudden onset) ostensive cues. Six experiments involving 204 participants applied (1) naturalistic faces, (2) arrows, (3) schematic eyes, (4) naturalistic eyes, or schematic facial configurations (5) without or (6) with head turn to an attention-capture paradigm. Trials started with two stimuli oriented towards the observer and two stimuli pointing into the periphery. Simultaneous to target presentation, one direct stimulus changed to averted and one averted stimulus changed to direct, yielding a 2 × 2 factorial design with direction and motion cues being absent or present. We replicated the (sudden) direct-gaze effect for photographic faces, but found no corresponding effects in Experiments 2–6. Hence, a holistic and socially meaningful facial context seems vital for attention capture by direct gaze. Statement of significance: The present study highlights the significance of context information for social attention. Our findings demonstrate that the direct-gaze effect, that is, the prioritization of direct gaze over averted gaze, critically relies on the presentation of a meaningful holistic and naturalistic facial context. This pattern of results is evidence in favor of early effects of surrounding social information on attention capture by direct gaze.
AB - Abstract: Human attention is strongly attracted by direct gaze and sudden onset motion. The sudden direct-gaze effect refers to the processing advantage for targets appearing on peripheral faces that suddenly establish eye contact. Here, we investigate the necessity of social information for attention capture by (sudden onset) ostensive cues. Six experiments involving 204 participants applied (1) naturalistic faces, (2) arrows, (3) schematic eyes, (4) naturalistic eyes, or schematic facial configurations (5) without or (6) with head turn to an attention-capture paradigm. Trials started with two stimuli oriented towards the observer and two stimuli pointing into the periphery. Simultaneous to target presentation, one direct stimulus changed to averted and one averted stimulus changed to direct, yielding a 2 × 2 factorial design with direction and motion cues being absent or present. We replicated the (sudden) direct-gaze effect for photographic faces, but found no corresponding effects in Experiments 2–6. Hence, a holistic and socially meaningful facial context seems vital for attention capture by direct gaze. Statement of significance: The present study highlights the significance of context information for social attention. Our findings demonstrate that the direct-gaze effect, that is, the prioritization of direct gaze over averted gaze, critically relies on the presentation of a meaningful holistic and naturalistic facial context. This pattern of results is evidence in favor of early effects of surrounding social information on attention capture by direct gaze.
KW - Attention capture
KW - Direct gaze
KW - Face perception
KW - Social cognition
KW - Social cues
KW - Social interaction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118449611&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3758/s13414-021-02382-2
DO - 10.3758/s13414-021-02382-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85118449611
VL - 84
SP - 64
EP - 75
JO - Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics
JF - Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics
SN - 1943-3921
IS - 1
ER -