Cross-modal unequal attention allocation

将注意力分配到复杂的场景中是日常生活中必不可少的一部分，从娱乐活动(如参加团队运动（注意不同的球员、球和人群中的干扰物）到工作场所(如监视现代飞机的驾驶舱（收听无线电通信、监视刻度盘和触觉反馈）。心理学家通常在实验室里通过研究单一形式的注意力（通常是视觉）来研究注意力。然而，正如上述飞行员的例子所表明的那样，注意力通常需要在不同的模式下进行部署，并且具有不同的优先级（例如，高度警告警报应该比客舱温度计得到更多的关注）。因此，本项目将探讨不同模式下的注意力分配。我们最近表明（Crowe et al., 2019），在一个模态（视觉）中，注意力可以以不平等的方式分散在不同的运动物体上。本项目将进一步探讨不平等的注意力分配的本质，并旨在研究如何在不同的模式下同时不平等地应用注意力。心理物理学方法，以及眼动追踪和行为（实验室和在线）将被用来测试注意力系统吐痰注意力的极限。新颖的实验将使我们能够提出关于注意力系统的本质和结构的问题，这些问题传统上只在一种模态中进行研究。然而，在现实世界中，人们需要关注来自不同模式的多个来源（医生可能需要在观看心电图监视器的同时收听心率监视器的声音）——人们如何管理这种注意力分散在很大程度上尚未得到充分探索。通过在一个任务中结合不同的刺激模式，我们可以将我们的基础科学发现扩展到更现实的情况，同时仍然保持对实验环境的严格控制。这个项目的另一个方面将着眼于刺激的动态性质：它们是静态不变的，还是移动和变化的。这对于理解注意力分配过程如何响应环境中的在线变化是很重要的。这项研究是与麦考瑞大学和阿尼娜·里奇博士合作进行的。该项目属于EPSRC工程研究领域。该项目将提供的结果可以转化为应用程序的设计选择，包括增强现实，可穿戴技术和辅助技术。克劳，e.m.，霍华德，c.j.，阿特伍德，a.s.， &肯特，C.（2019）。多目标跟踪中目标导向的不均匀注意力分配。心理物理学报，31 (1):444 - 444

Allocation of attention to a complex scene is an essential part of everyday life, from recreation such as playing a team sport (attending to different players, the ball, and distracters in the crowd) to workplaces such as monitoring the cockpit of a modern aeroplane (listening to radio communications, monitoring dials, and tactile feedback). Psychologists have typically studies attention in the laboratory by studying attention in a single modality (typically vision). However, as the pilot example above demonstrates, attention often needs to be deployed across modalities, and with different priorities (for example the altitude warning alarm should receive more attention than the cabin temperature gauge). Therefore, this project will explore the allocation of attention across modalities.We have recently shown (Crowe et al., 2019) that attention can be split in an unequal manner across different moving objects within a modality (vision). This project will further explore the nature of unequal attention allocation and will aim to examine how attention can be applied unequally across different modalities simultaneously. Psychophysical approaches, alongside eye tracking and behavioural (both in lab and online) will be used to test the limits of the attentional system to spit attention. Novel experiments will allow us to ask questions about the nature and architecture of the attention system which has traditionally only be studied within a modality. However, in the real-world people need to pay attention to multiple sources from different modalities (a doctor might need to listen to a heart rate monitor sound while also viewing the display of an EKG monitor)- how people manage this attention splitting is largely underexplored. By combining different stimulus modalities within a task, we can scale our basic science findings up to more realistic situations, while still maintaining tight control of the experimental setting. A further aspect of this project will look at he dynamic nature of the stimuli: whether they are static and unchanging, or moving and changing. This is important to understand how responsive the attention allocation process can be to online changes in the environment.This is in collaboration with Macquarie University and Dr Anina Rich.This project falls within the EPSRC Engineering research area. The project will provide results that can be translated into design choices for applications including augmented reality, wearable technology, and assistive technologies. Crowe, E. M., Howard, C. J., Attwood, A. S., & Kent, C. (2019). Goal-directed unequal attention allocation during multiple object tracking. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 81, 1312-1326