Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Components of human selective attention In our everyday lives we are presented with more information than we can possibly take in. For this reason we continually have to select - overtly (by moving our eyes) or covertly (no eye movements) - what information we will act on, and what information we are going to discard and ignore. This selective process of attending to some information to the exclusion of other information is the focus of my research. Three levels of research are outlined briefly as representative of the projects ongoing in my lab. Each level is concerned with the selection of biologically relevant information, in the present case, the eyes of other people (gaze selection), and how that selection process impacts where attention is committed next (gaze following). At each level of investigation the endogenous (volitional) and exogenous (automatic) components that contribute to gaze selection and gaze following are examined. At the first level, gaze selection and following are examined with natural static images (i.e., photos). At the second level, selection and following are investigated with dynamic images (i.e., videos). At the third level, the stimuli are real people. Brain and behavioural measures are obtained throughout. The idea emerging from the proposed work is that the principles of attentional selection are molded by the context in which they operate. The present proposal stands as a particularly strong example of this view. Specifically, there is a consistent preferential bias to select and follow the eyes of others, but the factors that impact the endogenous and exogenous control of attention change with the complexity of the situation.