Research On The Processing Mechanism Of Visual Cues To Attract Individual Attention Shift

Attention shift refers to a phenomenon in which people are unconsciously attracted by various cues and shift their attention to corresponding positions and directions.Researchers divide cues into biological cues and symbolic cues based on their meaning.Previous studies have found that biological cues such as eye gaze and head orientation,as well as symbolic cues such as arrows and directional words,can cause varying degrees of attention shift.Previous studies have suggested that the social significance of cues,that is,the connection established with directional information,is one of the reasons why visual cues affect attention.This article speculates that the physical properties of cues are also important factors affecting observer attention.This article includes two studies aimed at solving the following problems:(1)clarifying the similarities and differences between the effects of biological cues eye gaze and symbolic cues arrows on individual attention;(2)Explore the mechanism by which cues affect observer attention.Study 1 includes two experiments.Experiment 1 uses the spatial cue paradigm to stimulate cues with eye gaze,arrows,and colors that are "not predictive(the cue validity is 50% through guidance)",using cue types(eye gaze,arrows,and colors)× Cue-target consistency(consistent,inconsistent)× SOA(105 milliseconds,600 milliseconds)three factor in test design.The results of Experiment 1 showed that under both arrow and eye gaze cues,the response time of the cue target consistent condition was shorter than that of the inconsistent condition,and both arrow and eye gaze caused the observer to shift attention;Moreover,there was no significant difference in the cue effect between arrow and eye gaze,which supported that there was no significant difference in the intensity of reflective attention shift caused by these two cues.In addition,in Experiment 1,it was also found that "non predictive" colors as Cues did not cause the observer’s attention shift,and the difference in response time between consistent and inconsistent cue targets was not significant.Based on Experiment 1,Experiment 2 used 75% of the color of the cue validity as a cue stimulus,and the results showed that color cues could cause observers to shift their attention.The response time under the condition of consistent cue targets was shorter than under the condition of inconsistent cues.Although color is a common visual phenomenon in daily life,it is not used to indicate direction in real life and does not establish a connection with direction information.Color cues,as a "symmetrical" pattern that "does not establish a connection with directional information," cannot attract the observer’s attention to shift.However,by improving the effectiveness of color cues,endowing them with directional indicative significance,and establishing a connection with orientation,color cues can attract the observer’s attention shift.Study 2 innovatively added "match patterns" that are "not connected to directional information" and "asymmetric" as cue stimuli,with the aim of being able to directly compare "match patterns" with cues such as arrows,in an attempt to further reveal the mechanism of the impact of visual cues on observer attention.Study 2 used the reverse cue paradigm,using eye gaze,arrows,match graphics,and directional words as cue stimuli,and used cue types(eye gaze,arrows,match graphics,and directional words)× Cue-target consistency(prediction,orientation,neutral conditions)× A three factor intra subject design for the target visual field(upper,lower,left,and right).The results show that all four visual cue stimuli have two cue effects,prediction and orientation,and each cue has a greater predictive cue effect than the orientation cue effect.In addition,the "predictive cue effect value" of arrow and match patterns was significantly greater than that of eye gaze and directional words;The "orientation cue effect value" of directional words was greater than that of match patterns and eye gaze,and the difference between arrows and other cues did not reach a significant level.Study 2 supports that arrow orientation causes stronger autonomous attention shift than eye gaze,and there is no significant difference in reflective attention shift between the two.Study 2 found that all four cues caused the observer’s attention shift.Among them,arrows and directional words are two typical symbolic cues,with arrows as graphical symbols and directional words as linguistic symbols.Both have long been given directional meaning in social life and have established a connection with directional information.Unlike arrows and directional words,"matches" are not used to indicate direction in life,and they do not form a connection with directional information.However,as graphical symbols,"match graphics" and arrows also have the physical characteristics of "asymmetry",and it is speculated that "graphic asymmetry" may also be one of the reasons why visual cues affect the attention of observers.Through two studies,this article first provides some empirical support for the study of the differences between eye gaze and arrow cues.This article speculates that the differences in the effects of arrow and eye gaze on attention may be related to the size and shape of experimental materials.In addition,research has further explored the reasons for the impact of visual cues on observer attention,not only in the significance of cues formed during social interaction,but also in the connection established between cues and directional information;In addition to the physical properties of cues themselves,research has speculated that "graphic asymmetry" is one of the reasons that cues cause observers to shift their attention,which has to some extent innovated and expanded the research on the impact of visual cues on attention.