Object individuation in enumeration and multiple-object tracking

在复杂的动态视觉场景中，对象往往太多，无法同时感知所有对象。因此，需要有选择性的注意来选择一些，而另一些则被忽视。要在其他物品中选择一件物品，触摸或详细查看它，需要有一种方法来“个性化它”，以便它可以被视为独立的，与其他看起来相同的物品分开。此外，由于物品经常移动和变化，因此需要有一种方法来跟踪它们，以便尽管属性和位置发生变化，但每个物品都将被视为相同的“一件”。这项研究的目的是研究跟踪和个性化是如何在一生中发生变化的，以及这些能力与工作记忆、注意力以及涉及跟踪位置的听觉和触觉任务之间的关系。为了研究这些，我使用了两个相关的任务，这两个任务都需要项目个性化。其中之一是多目标跟踪：当多个目标项目在其他视觉项目之间移动时，跟踪它们的位置的能力，这是包括驾驶在内的许多日常任务的重要组成部分。第二个任务是空间枚举：能够说出视觉场景中有多少项。这些研究将对生命周期发展、注意力、数字认知和知觉-运动协调理论产生影响。此外，为了了解阿尔茨海默病等与年龄相关的疾病，有必要了解正常衰老时表现如何变化的信息。此外，还有其他实际影响。在加拿大，车辆碰撞是伤亡的主要原因，但它们也给社会带来了损失工作、社会和医疗保健费用以及损害等方面的成本。加拿大交通部估计，每年这些成本加起来相当于加拿大年度国内生产总值的4.9%。年纪较大的司机尤其有可能发生某些类型的碰撞，因此最有可能死亡或受重伤。通过研究个性化和跟踪，有可能开发出预测指标，以确定对自己和他人构成风险的司机，从而允许进行干预，以减少碰撞和死亡。

In a complex dynamic visual scene, there are often too many objects to be able to perceive them all at once. Consequently, selective attention is needed to choose some while others are ignored. To select an item among others, to touch it or look at it in detail, there needs to be a way to "individuate it" so that it can be considered as individual, separate from other items that look the same. As well, because items often move and change, there needs to be a way to track them, so that each item will be considered as the same "one" despite changes in properties and position. The objectives for this research are to study how tracking and individuation change across the lifespan, and how these abilities relate to working memory, attention, and auditory and tactile tasks that involve keeping track of location. To study these, I use two related tasks that both require item individuation. One is multiple object tracking: the ability to keep track of the positions of multiple target items as they move among other visual items, an important component of many daily tasks, including driving. A second task is spatial enumeration: the ability to say how many items there are in a visual scene. These investigations will have an impact on theories of life-span development, attention, numerical cognition, and perceptual-motor coordination. Furthermore, in order to understand age-related disorders such as Alzheimer's disease it is essential to have information about how performance changes with normal aging. There are other practical implications as well. In Canada, vehicle collisions are a leading cause of injury and death, but they also exact costs to society in terms of lost work, social and health care expenses, and damages. Transport Canada estimates that every year these costs sum to 4.9% of Canada's annual Gross Domestic Product. Older drivers are especially at risk for certain types of collision and are most likely to die or sustain serious injury as a result. By studying individuation and tracking, it may be possible to develop predictors to identify drivers who pose risks to themselves and others, thus permitting interventions to reduce collisions and deaths.