Poster #42 - Attention from Top to Bottom: Children and Adults Exhibit Common Opposing Vertical Attention Bias for Objects vs Scenes

• In Event: Poster Session 11

Abstract

Adults have a vertical attention bias (VAB) that directs their focus toward object tops and scene bottoms. This is consistent with focusing attention on the informative aspects and affordances of the environment, and generally favoring a downward gaze. The relatively smaller size of children could lead them to have a diminished bias that only gradually develops. Alternatively, an early coupling of attention to their action space could lead to VAB similar to adults. The current study investigates the developmental timeline of VAB, comparing 4-7 year olds to adult college students. Participants (N = 50 children; 53 adults) observed naturalistic photographic triptychs (48 objects, 52 scenes) and made similarity judgments comparing a test figure to two flanking figures that contained either the same top or same bottom. We found that (a) children and adults exhibit a common VAB for the tops of objects and bottoms of scenes; and (b) the adult bias is stronger than children’s. Exploratory analyses revealed the same age trend within the population of children, with VAB increasing with age, and asymptoting at the adult level at age 8. This demonstrates that despite age and body size differences that could make the environment for young children relatively disparate from adults, their perceptual system is already attuned to individual interactive action space, but with some continuing residual development. The findings support that, like adults, young children also focus their attention on their action space and body level affordances, where they interact more with tops of objects and bottoms of scenes.

Authors

• Kaitlin Van Houghton, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author

• Matthew D Langley, Arizona State University

• Michael K McBeath, Arizona State University

• Kelsey Lucca, Arizona State University