Gaze patterns in navigation: Encoding information in large-scale environments

Abstract

We investigated the role of gaze in encoding of object landmarks in navigation. Gaze behavior was measured while participants learnt to navigate in a virtual large-scale environment in order to understand the sampling strategies subjects use to select visual information during navigation. The results showed a consistent sampling pattern. Participants preferentially directed gaze at a subset of the available object landmarks with a preference for object landmarks at the end of hallways and T-junctions. In a subsequent test of knowledge of the environment, we removed landmarks depending on how frequently they had been viewed. Removal of infrequently viewed landmarks had little effect on performance, whereas removal of the most viewed landmarks impaired performance substantially. Thus, gaze location during learning reveals the information that is selectively encoded, and landmarks at choice points are selected in preference to less informative landmarks.

Visual information search in simulated junction negotiation: Gaze transitions of young novice, young experienced and older experienced drivers

“…There is a tight link between gaze location and allocation of attention in natural tasks, and gaze patterns have been shown to indicate how drivers select the data to be encoded (Hamid, Stankiewicz and Hayhoe, 2010), making visual search strategies a useful line of enquiry in understanding driving problems in junction negotiation. Furthermore, scenario specific visual training has been shown to improve drivers' visual search skills (Chapman, Underwood & Roberts, 2002;Pollatsek, Narayanaan, Pradhan & Fisher, 2006;Konstantopoulos, 2009).…”

When do I Quit? The Search Termination Problem in Visual Search

“…Alternatively, attention might be guided by top-down task demands (Jan Theeuwes, 2010), even if those top-down demands do not usually seem to rise to conscious awareness. Consider the searches that could be involved in avoiding obstacles as you navigate down the concourse (Hamid, Stankiewicz, & Hayhoe, 2010; Jovancevic-Misic & Hayhoe, 2009). The obstacles to be avoided might not be the most salient items but you manage to direct attention to them without introspective awareness of that search.…”

Influence of Driver’s Career and Secondary Cognitive Task on Visual Search Behavior in Driving: A Dual-Task Paradigm

“…The location of a point of gaze is typically assumed to index the focus of attention (Duchowski, 2007), when a visual fixation occurs. Therefore the fixation location is often assumed to include the most important task-relevant information, where the performers' attention is allocated (Hamid, Stankiewicz, & Hayhoe, 2010;Scott, Hall, Litchfield, & Westwood, 2013). As such, the quality and quantity of information to be obtained is dependent on when (or how long) and where the gaze is fixated at.…”