Physics of Cognition Group, Institute of Physics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany.
J Vis. 2023 Aug 1;23(8):8. doi: 10.1167/jov.23.8.8.
Gaze is a powerful cue for directing attention. We investigate the interpretation of an abstract figure as gaze modulates its efficacy as an attentional cue. In each trial, two vertical lines on a central disk moved to one side (left or right). Independent of this "feature-cued" side, a target (black disk) subsequently appeared on one side. After 300 trials (phase 1), participants watched a video of a human avatar walking away. For one group, the avatar wore a helmet that visually matched the central disk and looked at black disks to either side. The other group's video was unrelated to the cueing task. After another 300 trials (phase 2), videos were swapped between groups; 300 further trials (phase 3) followed. In all phases, participants responded more quickly for targets appearing on the feature-cued side. There was a significant interaction between group and phase for reaction times: In phase 3, the group who had just watched the avatar with the helmet had a reduced advantage to the feature-cued side. Hence, interpreting the disk as a turning head seen from behind counteracts the cueing by the motion of the disk. This suggests that the mere perceptual interpretation of an abstract stimulus as gaze yields social cueing effects.
注视是引导注意力的有力线索。我们研究了注视对注意线索的影响，即注视如何调节注意力线索的有效性。在每个试验中，中央圆盘上的两条垂直线向一侧（左侧或右侧）移动。与这个“特征提示”侧独立的是，随后目标（黑色圆盘）出现在一侧。经过 300 次试验（第 1 阶段）后，参与者观看了一个人类化身离开的视频。对于一组参与者，化身戴着与中央圆盘视觉匹配的头盔，并看向两侧的黑色圆盘。另一组的视频与提示任务无关。在另 300 次试验（第 2 阶段）后，视频在两组之间交换；然后又进行了 300 次试验（第 3 阶段）。在所有阶段，参与者对特征提示侧出现的目标的反应速度都更快。对于反应时间，组和阶段之间存在显著的交互作用：在第 3 阶段，刚刚观看了戴头盔化身的组对特征提示侧的优势降低了。因此，将圆盘解释为从后面看到的转头会抵消圆盘运动的提示作用。这表明，仅仅将抽象刺激知觉地解释为注视，就会产生社会提示效应。
