Limitations in visual attention and working memory set strict limits on visual representations, yet researchers are only beginning to appreciate how these limits constrain the acquisition and storage of information during ongoing behavior, or how visual processes operate in concert.  For example, during natural tasks, the goals of the observer must guide the selection of relevant information, including where to look and also what information to attend.  Across saccades, previously attended information may be either stored in working memory, or later re-fixated and re-acquired.  What guides this choice in strategy, and how does it influence visually guided behavior and visual representations?  Here, using naturalistic tasks in virtual reality, we show that observers spontaneously modulate the order in which they sample and store visual information, depending on the predictability of the task and the demands on working memory.  Learning gaze control and visual selection is also demonstrated during performance in tasks with dynamic scenes requiring visual updating and change detection.  The overall pattern of results suggests that the selection, updating, and maintenance of visual information, and the coordination of these processes, depend critically on local task context, as well as the probabilistic structure of the environment.

Readings :

Droll, J.A. & Hayhoe, M.M. (2007) Trade-offs between gaze and working memory use. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 33(6) 1352-1365.

Droll, J.A., Gigone, K., Hayhoe, M.M. (2007) Learning where to direct gaze during change detection.  Journal of Vision 7(14):6, 1-12.

Droll, J.A., Hayhoe, M.M., Triesch, J., Sullivan, B. (2005) Task demands control the acquisition and storage of visual information. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 31(6) 1416-1438.