Speed has an effect on multiple-object tracking independently of the number of close encounters between targets and distractors

Abstract

Multiple-object tracking (MOT) studies have shown that tracking ability declines as object speed increases. However, this might be attributed solely to the increased number of times that target and distractor objects usually pass close to each other ("close encounters") when speed is increased, resulting in more target-distractor confusions. The present study investigates whether speed itself affects MOT ability by using displays in which the number of close encounters is held constant across speeds. Observers viewed several pairs of disks, and each pair rotated about the pair's midpoint and, also, about the center of the display at varying speeds. Results showed that even with the number of close encounters held constant across speeds, increased speed impairs tracking performance, and the effect of speed is greater when the number of targets to be tracked is large. Moreover, neither the effect of number of distractors nor the effect of target-distractor distance was dependent on speed, when speed was isolated from the typical concomitant increase in close encounters. These results imply that increased speed does not impair tracking solely by increasing close encounters. Rather, they support the view that speed affects MOT capacity by requiring more attentional resources to track at higher speeds.

3D-Multiple Object Tracking training task improves passing decision-making accuracy in soccer players

“…This result is not 426 surprising knowing that the ability to maintain attention on multiple stimuli or 427 locations for quite a prolonged period of time is important for sport (Memmert, 428 2009). Importantly the 3D-MOT technique includes speed thresholds as a 429 dependent variable which is considered as a crucial part of MOT performance by 430requiring more attentional resources to track at higher speeds(Feria, 2012).431 Recently, neurological evidence has demonstrated the role of 3D-MOT in 432 improving attention, visual information processing speed and working memory 433(Parsons, et al, 2014). From other imagery studies, the MOT technique has 434 reported activation of higher-level brain areas involved in attentional processes…”

Trajectory Bundling for Animated Transitions

“…Results from these studies reveal key factors for people's performance in MOT tasks: speed, trajectory, and spacing. Increasing objects' moving speeds impairs tracking accuracy and decreases the maximum number of targets people can track [1,9,26], except for one case when the speed is changed by scaling the display as a whole [10]. Suganuma and Yokosawa found that the tracking accuracy is also impaired when targets share similar trajectories with distractors [27].…”

“…Objects' moving speed is one key factor for people's tracking performance in MOT tasks [1,9,26]. To ensure a fair comparison, we chose to control objects' average moving speed in this study, i.e., 0.5 units per second for both types of trajectories.…”

“…At the end of such tasks, to judge the tracking accuracy, participants have to "select all/some" (i.e., select the final locations of all targets [5,17,25] or some of the targets [10]), or "probe one" (i.e., indicate if a particular object belongs to the target set [9,11,26,30]), which are two main types of tests.…”

“…Previous studies show that tracking accuracy is impaired when targets occlude with distractors [1,9]. To measure the crowding between targets and distractors (i.e., how often targets occlude with distractors), we define a target crowding metric to capture the number of occlusions between targets and distractors during an animated transition:…”