Contributions of distractor dwelling, skipping, and revisiting to age differences in visual search
Abstract Visual search becomes slower with aging, particularly when targets are difficult to discriminate from distractors. Multiple distractor rejection processes may contribute independently to slower search times: dwelling on, skipping of, and revisiting of distractors, measurable by eye-tracking...
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| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83532-y |
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| author | Iris Wiegand Mariska van Pouderoijen Joukje M. Oosterman Kay Deckers Gernot Horstmann |
| author_facet | Iris Wiegand Mariska van Pouderoijen Joukje M. Oosterman Kay Deckers Gernot Horstmann |
| author_sort | Iris Wiegand |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Visual search becomes slower with aging, particularly when targets are difficult to discriminate from distractors. Multiple distractor rejection processes may contribute independently to slower search times: dwelling on, skipping of, and revisiting of distractors, measurable by eye-tracking. The present study investigated how age affects each of the distractor rejection processes, and how these contribute to the final search times in difficult (inefficient) visual search. In a sample of Dutch healthy adults (19–85 years), we measured reaction times and eye-movements during a target present/absent visual search task, with varying target-distractor similarity and visual set size. We found that older age was associated with longer dwelling and more revisiting of distractors, while skipping was unaffected by age. This suggests that increased processing time and reduced visuo-spatial memory for visited distractor locations contribute to age-related decline in visual search. Furthermore, independently of age, dwelling and revisiting contributed stronger to search times than skipping of distractors. In conclusion, under conditions of poor guidance, dwelling and revisiting have a major contribution to search times and age-related slowing in difficult visual search, while skipping is largely negligible. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-edd7c57757e94717946c688a677db882 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-edd7c57757e94717946c688a677db8822025-01-19T12:17:34ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111310.1038/s41598-024-83532-yContributions of distractor dwelling, skipping, and revisiting to age differences in visual searchIris Wiegand0Mariska van Pouderoijen1Joukje M. Oosterman2Kay Deckers3Gernot Horstmann4Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud UniversityDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud UniversityDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud UniversityAlzheimer Centrum Limburg, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht UniversityDepartment of Psychology, Bielefeld UniversityAbstract Visual search becomes slower with aging, particularly when targets are difficult to discriminate from distractors. Multiple distractor rejection processes may contribute independently to slower search times: dwelling on, skipping of, and revisiting of distractors, measurable by eye-tracking. The present study investigated how age affects each of the distractor rejection processes, and how these contribute to the final search times in difficult (inefficient) visual search. In a sample of Dutch healthy adults (19–85 years), we measured reaction times and eye-movements during a target present/absent visual search task, with varying target-distractor similarity and visual set size. We found that older age was associated with longer dwelling and more revisiting of distractors, while skipping was unaffected by age. This suggests that increased processing time and reduced visuo-spatial memory for visited distractor locations contribute to age-related decline in visual search. Furthermore, independently of age, dwelling and revisiting contributed stronger to search times than skipping of distractors. In conclusion, under conditions of poor guidance, dwelling and revisiting have a major contribution to search times and age-related slowing in difficult visual search, while skipping is largely negligible.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83532-yCognitive ageingAge-related slowingSelective attentionEye-movementsDistractor rejectionTarget-distractor similarity |
| spellingShingle | Iris Wiegand Mariska van Pouderoijen Joukje M. Oosterman Kay Deckers Gernot Horstmann Contributions of distractor dwelling, skipping, and revisiting to age differences in visual search Scientific Reports Cognitive ageing Age-related slowing Selective attention Eye-movements Distractor rejection Target-distractor similarity |
| title | Contributions of distractor dwelling, skipping, and revisiting to age differences in visual search |
| title_full | Contributions of distractor dwelling, skipping, and revisiting to age differences in visual search |
| title_fullStr | Contributions of distractor dwelling, skipping, and revisiting to age differences in visual search |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contributions of distractor dwelling, skipping, and revisiting to age differences in visual search |
| title_short | Contributions of distractor dwelling, skipping, and revisiting to age differences in visual search |
| title_sort | contributions of distractor dwelling skipping and revisiting to age differences in visual search |
| topic | Cognitive ageing Age-related slowing Selective attention Eye-movements Distractor rejection Target-distractor similarity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83532-y |
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