December 2022
Volume 22, Issue 14
Open Access
Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting Abstract  |   December 2022
Dynamically changing attention in complex visual stimuli
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Hugo Hammond
    University of Bristol
  • Graham Thomas
    BBC Research and Development, UK
  • Iain D. Gilchrist
    University of Bristol
  • Footnotes
    Acknowledgements  This work was funded by an iCase award (EPSRC and BBC) awarded to H.H.
Journal of Vision December 2022, Vol.22, 3602. doi:https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.22.14.3602
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      Hugo Hammond, Graham Thomas, Iain D. Gilchrist; Dynamically changing attention in complex visual stimuli. Journal of Vision 2022;22(14):3602. https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.22.14.3602.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Dual-task reaction times are a classic measure of the attentional demands of a stimulus. The paradigm has also been applied to more complex visual stimuli including film and television content, demonstrating that both low-level features (such as salience) and higher-level features (such as narrative) can drive attention. This set of 3 experiments compares dual-task reaction times to physiological measures and validates the dual-task approach against self-reported measures of engagement. In Experiment 1 (n = 24), we simultaneously obtained heart rate and skin conductance recordings, while participants completed a secondary choice tone discrimination task. We compared measures while participants watched BBC television content, to baseline periods in which no content was played. In Experiment 2 (n = 24), we assessed the direct influences of the dual task on the physiological responses with three conditions: (i) tones were present and participants had to respond, (ii) tones were present but no response was required, and (iii) a control where no tones were present. Experiment 3 (n = 165) was an online experiment where participants watched short TV clips while completing the dual-task paradigm, and rated their narrative engagement in each clip using a standard questionnaire. Dual-task reaction times were significantly correlated with heart rate and skin conductance. Skin conductance and heart rate increases were present when participants were required to make a response, but not when instructed to ignore the tones. Additionally, self-reported narrative engagement was predictive of participant’s reaction times. Our results indicate that the dual-task paradigm can be used to assess dynamic fluctuations in attention during complex dynamic visual stimuli. Dual-task reaction times also appear to be a direct and objective way to measure the wider construct of audience engagement.

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