Individual differences in crowding predict visual search performance

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Visual search is an integral part of human behavior and has proven important to understanding mechanisms of perception, attention, memory, and oculomotor control. Thus far, the dominant theoretical framework posits that search is mainly limited by covert attentional mechanisms, comprising a central bottleneck in visual processing. A different class of theories seeks the cause in the inherent limitations of peripheral vision, with search being constrained by what is known as the functional viewing field (FVF). One of the major factors limiting peripheral vision, and thus the FVF, is crowding. We adopted an individual differences approach to test the prediction from FVF theories that visual search performance is determined by the efficacy of peripheral vision, in particular crowding. Forty-four participants were assessed with regard to their sensitivity to crowding (as measured by critical spacing) and their search efficiency (as indicated by manual responses and eye movements). This revealed substantial correlations between the two tasks, as stronger susceptibility to crowding was predictive of slower search, more eye movements, and longer fixation durations. Our results support FVF theories in showing that peripheral vision is an important determinant of visual search efficiency.

Original languageEnglish
Article number29
Pages (from-to)1-17
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Vision
Volume21
Issue number5
Early online date26 May 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2021

Bibliographical note

Copyright:
This record is sourced from MEDLINE/PubMed, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine

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