Abstract
Through a series of studies, we investigate how people direct gaze toward familiar and unfamiliar objects. When an observer tries to encode objects, gaze is first directed preferentially to the familiar object followed by a later prioritization of the unfamiliar ones. We demonstrate that the initial preference reflects prioritization of personally significant information and could be volitionally controlled. The latter prioritization of the unfamiliar objects is determined by the immediate goals due to the task and is less controllable. These findings imply that the mechanism that guides gaze is flexible, affected by both long-term significance and short-term goals and could be only partially controlled. This study has also imperative practical implications for detecting concealed information using eye tracking.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1888-1901 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2021 |
Keywords
- Cognition
- Eye-movements
- Memory detection
- Visual attention
- Volitional control
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language