Dataset Information

Individual differences in change blindness are predicted by the strength and stability of visual representations.

ABSTRACT: The phenomenon of change blindness reveals that people are surprisingly poor at detecting unexpected visual changes; however, research on individual differences in detection ability is scarce. Predictive processing accounts of visual perception suggest that better change detection may be linked to assigning greater weight to prediction error signals, as indexed by an increased alternation rate in perceptual rivalry or greater sensitivity to low-level visual signals. Alternatively, superior detection ability may be associated with robust visual predictions against which sensory changes can be more effectively registered, suggesting an association with high-level mechanisms of visual short-term memory (VSTM) and attention. We administered a battery of 10 measures to explore these predictions and to determine, for the first time, the test-retest reliability of commonly used change detection measures. Change detection performance was stable over time and generalized from displays of static scenes to video clips. An exploratory factor analysis revealed two factors explaining performance across the battery, that we identify as visual stability (loading on change detection, attention measures, VSTM and perceptual rivalry) and visual ability (loading on iconic memory, temporal order judgments and contrast sensitivity). These results highlight the importance of strong, stable representations and the ability to resist distraction, in order to successfully incorporate unexpected changes into the contents of visual awareness.

SUBMITTER: Andermane N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6345093 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Through selective attention, decision-makers can learn to ignore behaviorally irrelevant stimulus dimensions. This can improve learning and increase the perceptual discriminability of relevant stimulus information. Across cognitive models of categorization, this is typically accomplished through the inclusion of attentional parameters, which provide information about the importance assigned to each stimulus dimension by each participant. The effect of these parameters on psychological representation is often described geometrically, such that perceptual differences over relevant psychological dimensions are accentuated (or stretched), and differences over irrelevant dimensions are down-weighted (or compressed). In sensory and association cortex, representations of stimulus features are known to covary with their behavioral relevance. Although this implies that neural representational space might closely resemble that hypothesized by formal categorization theory, to date, attentional effects in the brain have been demonstrated through powerful experimental manipulations (e.g., contrasts between relevant and irrelevant features). This approach sidesteps the role of idiosyncratic conceptual knowledge in guiding attention to useful information sources. To bridge this divide, we used formal categorization models, which were fit to behavioral data, to make inferences about the concepts and strategies used by individual participants during decision-making. We found that when greater attentional weight was devoted to a particular visual feature (e.g., "color"), its value (e.g., "red") was more accurately decoded from occipitotemporal cortex. We also found that this effect was sufficiently sensitive to reflect individual differences in conceptual knowledge, indicating that occipitotemporal stimulus representations are embedded within a space closely resembling that formalized by classic categorization theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Project description:Outbred rats display variable preferences for bittersweet solutions, expressed as preference or avoidance of high concentrations of artificial sweeteners over water. This may reflect individual differences in appetitive/aversive conflict processing that may have predictive validity for disorders of motivation. Here we use a homecage two-bottle choice procedure to examine the test/retest stability and between-tastant consistency in sucralose preference to determine the reliability of bittersweet taste preference. Sucralose is a non-caloric artificial sweetener that is preferred by some rats and avoided by others. We sought to determine whether sucralose preference is consistent with preference of sucrose/quinine solutions that have known sweet and bitter taste qualities, respectively. We give fluid restricted rats 45-minutes homecage access to water and ascending concentrations of sucralose (SUCRA; 0.0025-10mM) or a compound solution of sucrose (116mM) + quinine (0.002-2mM) (SQ). We use a within-subject counterbalanced design (SUCRA or SQ testing) to determine preference of each bittersweet solution relative to water. We observed individual variability in preference for SUCRA and SQ, such that some rats preferred bittersweet solutions over water (preferring) while other rats preferred water over bittersweet solutions (avoiding). Within tastant, this preference remained stable across repeated testing. Between solutions, SUCRA preference scores correlated with SQ scores, suggesting consistent taste conflict processing for both bittersweet solutions. Population level analyses confirmed that preference generalizes across bittersweet solutions, and that rats' preferences for bittersweet solutions relative to water are stable over time. The test/retest and between-tastant reliability of this taste conflict screening procedure support the potential utility of this model for exploring individual variability in appetitive/aversive conflict processes mediating motivated behavior.

Project description:People often fail to detect large changes to visual scenes following a brief interruption, an effect known as 'change blindness'. People with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have superior attention to detail and better discrimination of targets, and often notice small details that are missed by others. Together these predict people with autism should show enhanced perception of changes in simple change detection paradigms, including reduced change blindness. However, change blindness studies to date have reported mixed results in ASC, which have sometimes included no differences to controls or even enhanced change blindness. Attenuated change blindness has only been reported to date in ASC in children and adolescents, with no study reporting reduced change blindness in adults with ASC. The present study used a change blindness flicker task to investigate the detection of changes in images of everyday life in adults with ASC (n = 22) and controls (n = 22) using a simple change detection task design and full range of original scenes as stimuli. Results showed the adults with ASC had reduced change blindness compared to adult controls for changes to items of marginal interest in scenes, with no group difference for changes to items of central interest. There were no group differences in overall response latencies to correctly detect changes nor in the overall number of missed detections in the experiment. However, the ASC group showed greater missed changes for marginal interest changes of location, showing some evidence of greater change blindness as well. These findings show both reduced change blindness to marginal interest changes in ASC, based on response latencies, as well as greater change blindness to changes of location of marginal interest items, based on detection rates. The findings of reduced change blindness are consistent with clinical reports that people with ASC often notice small changes to less salient items within their environment, and are in-line with theories of enhanced local processing and greater attention to detail in ASC. The findings of lower detection rates for one of the marginal interest conditions may be related to problems in shifting attention or an overly focused attention spotlight.

Dataset Information

Individual differences in change blindness are predicted by the strength and stability of visual representations.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets