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Poster Session B: Wednesday, August 13, 1:00 – 4:00 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

Covert attention is flexibly allocated in value-guided choice

Amy X. Li¹, Benjamin Chan, Sage EP Boettcher, Laurence T Hunt¹; ¹University of Oxford

Presenter: Amy X. Li

Computational models of human decision making suggest that visual attention influences evidence accumulation from choice options, with non-fixated peripheral options being downweighted relative to the fixated option via a constant parameter. Such models negate the possibility that levels of covert attention might change across the course of a decision, shaped by information gathering and options encountered. We explicitly test how attention is allocated beyond gaze (i.e., covert attention) during value-guided choice using a probe-detection task. Participants (N = 31) completed a choice task, with simultaneous eyetracking recording, where they chose between differently valued patches to earn rewards. During each trial, probe letters were flashed briefly onscreen at each patch location, and probe report accuracy at each location was used as a measure of attentional deployment. Results showed that covert attention at peripheral locations was modulated by decision-relevant variables – such as their decision-relevance and relative value – and has downstream consequences for fixation-related choice biases. These findings indicate that attention to peripheral options is flexible rather than fixed.

Topic Area: Object Recognition & Visual Attention

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