The Role of Clarity and Blur in Guiding Visual Attention in Photographs

Autor/inn/en	Enns, James T.; MacDonald, Sarah C.
Titel	The Role of Clarity and Blur in Guiding Visual Attention in Photographs
Quelle	In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 39 (2013) 2, S.568-578 (11 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0096-1523
DOI	10.1037/a0029877
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Eye Movements; Photography; Visual Stimuli; Attention; Visual Acuity; Visual Discrimination; Recognition (Psychology); Spatial Ability; Artists; Attitudes; Influences; Content Analysis; Bias; Goal Orientation; Semantics; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Augenbewegung; Fotografie; Aufmerksamkeit; Optisches Differenzierungsvermögen; Recognition; Wiedererkennen; Räumliches Vorstellungsvermögen; Artiste; Artist; Künstler; Künstlerin; Attitude; Einstellung; Verhalten; Influence; Einfluss; Einflussfaktor; Inhaltsanalyse; Zielorientierung; Zielvorstellung; Semantik; Kanada
Abstract	Visual artists and photographers believe that a viewer's gaze can be guided by selective use of image clarity and blur, but there is little systematic research. In this study, participants performed several eye-tracking tasks with the same naturalistic photographs, including recognition memory for the entire photo, as well as recognition memory and personality ratings for individual people in the photos (Experiments 1-3). The results showed that fixations occurred more rapidly and frequently to a local region of clarity than to a comparable blurred region in all tasks, independent of the content of the photo in the local region, and even under instructions to look equally at both regions. However, this bias was reversed when the content of the photos was no longer task-relevant. In Experiment 4, participants located target regions defined by either clarity or blur. Fixations and manual responses were faster for blurred than for sharp targets. These findings imply that the saliency of both image clarity and image blur depends on viewers' goals. Focusing on photo content prioritizes regions of clarity whereas focusing on photo quality prioritizes attention to regions of blur. (Contains 6 figures.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10