Introduction
Humans perceive sensory cues through two key systems: perceptual structure and attention control. The latter chooses crucial data, while the former organizes complicated sensory signals into cohesive components. The modulation of concentration and perceptual structure can influence sensory processing and execution under different settings and activities. Therefore, attention modifies the human perception of the visual environment, while perception influences attention by structuring complicated pertinent information.
The Influence of Attention on Perception
Carrasco & Barbot’s Study
Regarding the influence of attention, it is noteworthy that people can choose task-relevant material from a stream of meaningless stimuli with the help of concentration. This mechanism is fundamental to human functioning. Some experts say attentiveness may impact how people see objects (Carrasco & Barbot, 2019).
For instance, Carrasco and colleagues showed that shifting spatial focus to a grating increased its perceptual contrast (Carrasco & Barbot, 2019). Reports have additionally been that spatial attention modifies other sensory parameters, including perceived size, positional accuracy, motion velocity, motion synchronization, perceptual structure, and even physical attributes (Barbot et al., 2018). Therefore, attention has an influence on perception in terms of stimulus features.
Cai et al.’s Study
Several studies have been conducted to show how attention affects people’s perceptions. For example, in a study by Cai and colleagues (2020), forty-five healthy individuals underwent a short adjustment to either left- or right-shifting prisms or to baseline glasses that did not alter the optical landscape, both before and after completing the line-length judgment assignment. Researchers discovered that respondents initially tended to think the line on the left was larger. A brief period of visual motor adjustment to the left-deviating prism adaptation (PA) helped to lessen such a leftward prejudice in length perception (Cai et al., 2020).
Nevertheless, the original length perception bias toward the left line was unaltered for the rest of the conditions (Cai et al., 2020). The findings show that a straightforward sensorimotor adjustment, which might change the center of attention, can affect how long a line seems. This result supports the claim that attention may change perception.
Barbot et al.’s Study
In a similar study, Barbot and colleagues investigated whether the visual organization of several items may be changed by attention. This research had twenty participants, and by using a fast sequential visual display task, researchers were able to alter hidden spatial attention while measuring the perceptual structure of two multi-element displays arranged as either rows or columns according to brightness resemblance at both attended and unattended sites (Barbot et al., 2018). They discovered that the modal arrays’ evident perceptual structure is enhanced when paid attention to and diminished when not.
The Influence of Perception on Attention
Kirsch et al.’s 2021 Study
As for the influence of perception on attention, it is necessary to mention that attention is followed by perception. Perception occurs when the components of anything held significant from concentration are identified and experienced (Kirsch et al., 2021). Different levels of attention are given to various elements depending on what is being seen (Kirsch et al., 2021).
The ability to discern the interpretations of several features and recall the most crucial ones is a critical part of perception. In this case, a factor may be recognized but not given importance. For instance, one study by Kirsh and colleagues (2021) illustrates how participants perceive golf holes. The article found that successful golfers perceive golf holes more than unsuccessful golfers (Kirsh et al., 2021). Successful acts have been observed to enhance the targeted items’ perceived size.
Kirsch et al.’s 2020 Study
In another study by Kirsh and colleagues, sixteen individuals actively participated in the experiment. The objective of the experiment was to reproduce the relationship between an increment in motion distance and a rise in perceived target size shown in the striking task. According to Fitts’ law, it may be anticipated that increasing the movement distance will make it harder to strike the target (Kirsch et al., 2018). As a result, this effect may be seen as a stand-in for similar observations that show changes in the perception of stimuli after variation in an acting capacity.
Additionally, researchers noticed that fifteen participants perceived the circles on the screen’s perimeter as more significant than those in the middle. This side effect may initially seem unexpected since distant objects are typically considered smaller (Kirsch et al., 2020). Nevertheless, as the authors showed, the present site of attention significantly modifies this distortion (Kirsch et al., 2020). In the current configuration, the appearance of the peripheral circle undoubtedly triggered a change in focus to the vicinity of that circle (Kirsch et al., 2020). Therefore, the study participants changed the typical effect direction due to their perceptions.
Conclusion
In sum, human perception of the visual environment is altered by attention, whereas perception shapes attention by organizing complex, relevant information. Some experts contend that attention may affect how individuals see items. There have additionally been claims that other sensory factors, such as perceived size, positioning accuracy, motion speed, perceptual structure, motion synchronization, and even physical characteristics, are altered by spatial attention. Regarding how perception affects attention, different aspects receive varying degrees of attention based on what is being viewed, and certain factors may even be acknowledged but not given priority.
References
Barbot, A., Liu, S., Kimchi, R., & Carrasco, M. (2018). Attention enhances apparent perceptual organization. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 25(5), 1824-1832. Web.
Cai, Y. C., Su, X., Yang, Y. M., Pan, Y., Zhu, L., & Luo, L. J. (2020). How does attention alter length perception? A prism adaptation study. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1-9. Web.
Carrasco, M., and Barbot, A. (2019). Spatial attention alters visual appearance. Current Opinion in Psychology, 29, 56–64. Web.
Kirsch, W., Heitling, B., & Kunde, W. (2018). Changes in the size of attentional focus modulate the apparent object’s size. Vision Research, 153, 82–90. Web.
Kirsch, W., Kitzmann, T., & Kunde, W. (2021). Action affects perception through modulation of attention. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 83(5), 2320–2330. Web.
Kirsch W., Pfister R., & Kunde W. (2020). On why objects appear smaller in the visual periphery. Psychological Science, 31(1), 88–96. Web.