Target-tilt and vertical-hemifield asymmetries in free-scan search for 3-D targets

Abstract

In this study, asymmetries in finding pictorial 3-D targets defined by their tilt and rotation in space were investigated by means of a free-scan search task. In Experiment 1, feature search for cube tilt and rotation, as assessed by a spatial forced-choice task, was slow but still exhibited a characteristic "flat" slope; it was also much faster to upward-tilted cubes and to targets located in the upper half of the search field. Faster search times for cubes and rectangular solids in the upper field, an advantage for upward-tilted cubes, and a strong interaction between target tilt and direction of lighting (upward or downward) for the rectangular solids were all demonstrated in Experiment 2. Finally, an advantage in searching for tilted cubes located in the upper half of the display was shown in Experiment 3, which used a present-absent search task. The results of this study confirm that the upper-field bias in visual search is due mainly to a biased search mechanism and not to the features of the target stimulus or to specific ecological factors.

Opposite visual field asymmetries for egocentric and allocentric spatial judgments

“…Unfortunately, whereas experimental evidences supporting a lower visual hemifield advantage was provided for both visuo-motor coordination [12] and spatial memory tasks [13], an upper visual field advantage for visual processing tasks (visual search, recognition, etc.) was reported in some studies [14] but not in others [15], and is still controversial. The lack of a clear evidence for the upper visual field advantage in visual processing tasks might be due to the extrapersonal systems being associated with multiple frames of reference.…”

The Floor Is Nearer than the Sky: How Looking Up or Down Affects Construal Level

“…Nevertheless, far vision is likely to be dominant in the upper visual field, and as a consequence visual functional specialization has also occurred in the upper part of the visual field. For example, scanning far visual space, complex visual searches and scene parsing are more effectively performed in the upper rather than lower part of the visual field (Previc 1990;Previc, Declerck, and de Brabander 2005;Previc and Naegele 2001).…”

Asymmetries in visual search: An introduction

“…Boutsen and Marendaz (2001) exploit the well-known asymmetries in orientation search in an investigation of the preattentive analysis of the axes of objects. Previc and Naegele (2001) use 3-D asymmetries to continue Previc's study of asymmetries in space. Notably, they find differences between search of the upper and of the lower parts of a visual stimulus (see also Previc, 1996, and Previc & Blume, 1993, as well as He, Cavanagh, & Intriligator, 1996.…”