SeminarPast EventVision Science

Real-world scene perception and search from foveal to peripheral vision

Schedule
Monday, October 24, 2022
14:00 UTC
Antje Nuthmann

Prof

Kiel University

Host: Ad hoc

Event Information

Host

Ad hoc

Duration

70 minutes

Abstract

A high-resolution central fovea is a prominent design feature of human vision. But how important is the fovea for information processing and gaze guidance in everyday visual-cognitive tasks? Following on from classic findings for sentence reading, I will present key results from a series of eye-tracking experiments in which observers had to search for a target object within static or dynamic images of real-world scenes. Gaze-contingent scotomas were used to selectively deny information processing in the fovea, parafovea, or periphery. Overall, the results suggest that foveal vision is less important and peripheral vision is more important for scene perception and search than previously thought. The importance of foveal vision was found to depend on the specific requirements of the task. Moreover, the data support a central-peripheral dichotomy in which peripheral vision selects and central vision recognizes.

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