Unique objects attract attention even when faint

Daniel M Jeck; Michael Qin; Howard Egeth; Ernst Niebur

doi:10.1016/j.visres.2019.04.004

Unique objects attract attention even when faint

Vision Res. 2019 Jul:160:60-71. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.04.004. Epub 2019 May 21.

Authors

Daniel M Jeck¹, Michael Qin², Howard Egeth³, Ernst Niebur⁴

Affiliations

¹ Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
² Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut at Storrs, USA.
³ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁴ Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Solomon Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

PMID: 31047908
DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.04.004

Abstract

Locally contrasting objects, e.g. a red apple surrounded by green apples, attract attention. Does this generalize to differences in feature space? That is, do unique objects-regardless of their location-stand out from a collection of objects that are similar to one another, even when the unique object has lower local contrast with the background than the other objects? Behavioral data show indeed a preference for unique items but previous experiments enabled viewers to anticipate what response they were "supposed" to give. We developed a new experimental paradigm that minimizes such top-down effects. Pitting local contrast against global uniqueness, we show that unique stimuli attract attention even in not-anticipated, never-seen images, and even when the unique stimuli are faint (low contrast). A computational model explains how competition between objects in feature space favors dissimilar objects over those with similar features. The model explains how humans select unique objects, without a loss of performance on natural scenes.

Keywords: Attention; Bottom-up; Saliency; Top-down; Uniqueness; Weak signals.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Attention / physiology*
Contrast Sensitivity / physiology*
Discrimination, Psychological / physiology
Form Perception / physiology*
Humans
Photic Stimulation / methods
Reaction Time

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding