Abstract
In this study, asymmetries in finding pictorial 3-D targets defined by their tilt and rotation in space were investigated by means of a free-scan search task. In Experiment 1, feature search for cube tilt and rotation, as assessed by a spatial forced-choice task, was slow but still exhibited a characteristic “flat” slope; it was also much faster to upward-tilted cubes and to targets located in the upper half of the search field. Faster search times for cubes and rectangular solids in the upper field, an advantage for upward-tilted cubes, and a strong interaction between target tilt and direction of lighting (upward or downward) for the rectangular solids were all demonstrated in Experiment 2. Finally, an advantage in searching for tilted cubes located in the upper half of the display was shown in Experiment 3, which used a present-absent search task. The results of this study confirm that the upper-field bias in visual search is due mainly to a biased search mechanism and not to the features of the target stimulus or to specific ecological factors.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Braun, J. (1993). Shape-from-shading is independent of visual attention and may be a “texton.”Spatial Vision,7, 311–322.
Bravo, M. J., &Nakayama, K. (1992). The role of attention in different visual-search tasks.Perception & Psychophysics,51, 465–472.
Brown, J. M., Weisstein, N., &May, J. G. (1992). Visual search for simple volumetric shapes.Perception & Psychophysics,51, 40–48.
Carrasco, M., Evert, D. L., Chang, I., &Katz, S.M. (1995). The eccentricity effect: Target eccentricity affects performance on conjunction searches.Perception & Psychophysics,57, 1241–1261.
Chaiken, J. D., Corbin, H. H., &Volkmann, J. (1962). Mapping a field of short-time visual search.Science,138, 1327–1328.
Deubel, H., &Schneider, W. X. (1996). Saccade target selection and object recognition: Evidence for a common attentional mechanism.Vision Research,36, 1827–1837.
Enns, J. T., &Rensink, R. A. (1990). Influence of scene-based properties on visual search.Science,247, 721–723.
Enns, J. T., &Rensink, R. A. (1991). Preattentive recovery of three-dimensional orientation from line drawings.Psychological Review,98, 335–351.
Findlay, J.M. (1997). Saccade target selection during visual search.Vision Research,37, 617–631.
He, S., Cavanagh, P., &Intriligator, J. (1996). Attentional resolution and the locus of visual awareness.Nature,383, 334–337.
Humphreys, G.W., Keulers, N., &Donnelly, N. (1994). Parallel visual coding in three dimensions.Perception,23, 453–470.
Kleffner, D. A., &Ramachandran, V. S. (1992). On the perception of shape from shading.Perception & Psychophysics,52, 18–36.
Previc, F. H. (1996). Attentional and oculomotor influences on visual field anisotropies in visual search performance.Visual Cognition,3, 277–301.
Previc, F. H. (1998). The neuropsychology of 3-D space.Psychological Bulletin,124, 123–164.
Previc, F. H., &Blume, J. L. (1993). Visual search asymmetries in three-dimensional space.Vision Research,33, 2697–2704.
Sun, J. Y., &Perona, P. (1996). Preattentive perception of elementary three-dimensional shapes.Vision Research,36, 2515–2529.
von Grünau, M., &Dubé, S. (1994). Visual search asymmetry for viewing direction.Perception & Psychophysics,56, 211–220.
Wolfe, J. M. (1992). “Effortless” texture segmentation and “parallel” visual search are not the same thing.Vision Research,32, 757–763.
Zelinsky, G. J. (1996). Using eye saccades to assess the selectivity of search movements.Vision Research,36, 2177–2187.
Zelinsky, G. J., &Sheinberg, D. L. (1997). Eye movements during parallel-serial visual search.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,23, 244–262.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This study was supported in part by a grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) to the first author and an AFOSRfunded summer fellowship to the second author. The views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Air Force or the Department of Defense.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Previc, F.H., Naegele, P.D. Target-tilt and vertical-hemifield asymmetries in free-scan search for 3-D targets. Perception & Psychophysics 63, 445–457 (2001). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194411
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194411