Low attention impairs optimal incorporation of prior knowledge in perceptual decisions

When visual attention is directed away from a stimulus, neural processing is weak and strength and precision of sensory data decreases. From a computational perspective, in such situations observers should give more weight to prior expectations in order to behave optimally during a discrimination ta...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Solovey, Guillermo
Publicado: 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_19433921_v77_n6_p2021_Morales
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_19433921_v77_n6_p2021_Morales
Aporte de:
id paper:paper_19433921_v77_n6_p2021_Morales
record_format dspace
spelling paper:paper_19433921_v77_n6_p2021_Morales2023-06-08T16:32:23Z Low attention impairs optimal incorporation of prior knowledge in perceptual decisions Solovey, Guillermo Attention: divided attention and inattention Cognitive and attentional control Ideal observer Bayesian models Signal detection theory adolescent adult attention Bayes theorem constructive feedback female human male perceptive discrimination photostimulation reward vision Adolescent Adult Attention Bayes Theorem Discrimination (Psychology) Female Formative Feedback Humans Male Photic Stimulation Reward Signal Detection, Psychological Visual Perception When visual attention is directed away from a stimulus, neural processing is weak and strength and precision of sensory data decreases. From a computational perspective, in such situations observers should give more weight to prior expectations in order to behave optimally during a discrimination task. Here we test a signal detection theoretic model that counter-intuitively predicts subjects will do just the opposite in a discrimination task with two stimuli, one attended and one unattended: when subjects are probed to discriminate the unattended stimulus, they rely less on prior information about the probed stimulus’ identity. The model is in part inspired by recent findings that attention reduces trial-by-trial variability of the neuronal population response and that they use a common criterion for attended and unattended trials. In five different visual discrimination experiments, when attention was directed away from the target stimulus, subjects did not adjust their response bias in reaction to a change in stimulus presentation frequency despite being fully informed and despite the presence of performance feedback and monetary and social incentives. This indicates that subjects did not rely more on the priors under conditions of inattention as would be predicted by a Bayes-optimal observer model. These results inform and constrain future models of Bayesian inference in the human brain. © 2015, The Psychonomic Society, Inc. Fil:Solovey, G. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. 2015 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_19433921_v77_n6_p2021_Morales http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_19433921_v77_n6_p2021_Morales
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Attention: divided attention and inattention
Cognitive and attentional control
Ideal observer Bayesian models
Signal detection theory
adolescent
adult
attention
Bayes theorem
constructive feedback
female
human
male
perceptive discrimination
photostimulation
reward
vision
Adolescent
Adult
Attention
Bayes Theorem
Discrimination (Psychology)
Female
Formative Feedback
Humans
Male
Photic Stimulation
Reward
Signal Detection, Psychological
Visual Perception
spellingShingle Attention: divided attention and inattention
Cognitive and attentional control
Ideal observer Bayesian models
Signal detection theory
adolescent
adult
attention
Bayes theorem
constructive feedback
female
human
male
perceptive discrimination
photostimulation
reward
vision
Adolescent
Adult
Attention
Bayes Theorem
Discrimination (Psychology)
Female
Formative Feedback
Humans
Male
Photic Stimulation
Reward
Signal Detection, Psychological
Visual Perception
Solovey, Guillermo
Low attention impairs optimal incorporation of prior knowledge in perceptual decisions
topic_facet Attention: divided attention and inattention
Cognitive and attentional control
Ideal observer Bayesian models
Signal detection theory
adolescent
adult
attention
Bayes theorem
constructive feedback
female
human
male
perceptive discrimination
photostimulation
reward
vision
Adolescent
Adult
Attention
Bayes Theorem
Discrimination (Psychology)
Female
Formative Feedback
Humans
Male
Photic Stimulation
Reward
Signal Detection, Psychological
Visual Perception
description When visual attention is directed away from a stimulus, neural processing is weak and strength and precision of sensory data decreases. From a computational perspective, in such situations observers should give more weight to prior expectations in order to behave optimally during a discrimination task. Here we test a signal detection theoretic model that counter-intuitively predicts subjects will do just the opposite in a discrimination task with two stimuli, one attended and one unattended: when subjects are probed to discriminate the unattended stimulus, they rely less on prior information about the probed stimulus’ identity. The model is in part inspired by recent findings that attention reduces trial-by-trial variability of the neuronal population response and that they use a common criterion for attended and unattended trials. In five different visual discrimination experiments, when attention was directed away from the target stimulus, subjects did not adjust their response bias in reaction to a change in stimulus presentation frequency despite being fully informed and despite the presence of performance feedback and monetary and social incentives. This indicates that subjects did not rely more on the priors under conditions of inattention as would be predicted by a Bayes-optimal observer model. These results inform and constrain future models of Bayesian inference in the human brain. © 2015, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.
author Solovey, Guillermo
author_facet Solovey, Guillermo
author_sort Solovey, Guillermo
title Low attention impairs optimal incorporation of prior knowledge in perceptual decisions
title_short Low attention impairs optimal incorporation of prior knowledge in perceptual decisions
title_full Low attention impairs optimal incorporation of prior knowledge in perceptual decisions
title_fullStr Low attention impairs optimal incorporation of prior knowledge in perceptual decisions
title_full_unstemmed Low attention impairs optimal incorporation of prior knowledge in perceptual decisions
title_sort low attention impairs optimal incorporation of prior knowledge in perceptual decisions
publishDate 2015
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_19433921_v77_n6_p2021_Morales
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_19433921_v77_n6_p2021_Morales
work_keys_str_mv AT soloveyguillermo lowattentionimpairsoptimalincorporationofpriorknowledgeinperceptualdecisions
_version_ 1768546695580221440