Saccadic eye movements are guided by attention. Indeed, some saccade trajectory effects serve as an index the attentional strength of visual objects in the map of visual space used to plan a saccade. One approach to understanding saccade planning relies on simple tasks in sparse displays (containing a single target and distractor object) to develop neurophysiologically plausible models of saccade behavior. Under tightly controlled conditions, saccade trajectories can be well predicted by representing displays of objects with simple visual features and their relative salience. But the world in which the saccade system typically operates is not sparse, and observer eye movements are guided by more than just salience. As such, another approach has been to examine saccadic behavior in complex scenes and complicated goals. Such scene context can drastically affect saccades in ways that are not well predicted by a context-free and expectation-free representation of visual salience. This dissertation starts to bridge this gap between these literatures by focusing on object surfaces. Covert shifts of attention operate on representations informed not just by stimulus salience and location-based expectations, but also by the perceptual organization of object surfaces. Covert attention can be guided by surface context, such that targets and distractors are processed differently as a function of whether they are on the same or different surface. These effects are fragile, however, and have previously only been demonstrated in relatively engaging tasks and with strong perceptions of objecthood. The present work tested the strength of the relationship between attention and saccades by testing whether surface context guides orienting eye movements. Observers made saccades to objects that could be organized with different surface structure. In four experiments (Chapters 2 and 3) I found no evidence that the saccade map encoded surface context. But in two experiments (Chapters 4 and 5) I demonstrate saccade trajectories are sensitive to surface context, independently of low or high task engagement. This demonstrates that object surface-based representations are not necessarily fragile and can affect the oculomotor map even for simple saccadic orienting for which the surface is task-irrelevant. This lends evidence to the theory that the nature of the representation of vision is one of object surfaces, and suggests that the strength of object encoding is stronger than has been previously demonstrated.

The main purpose of this series of studies was to investigate the efficacy of attentional coping strategies in altering children's responses to a painful experience. After a review of the theoretical and empirical links between pain experience and attention, Studies 1-4 compared the efficacy of imagery-based strategies that focussed attention away from a painful experience (distraction) or towards a painful experience (sensory-focussing) on 7- to 14-year-old children??s responses to cold-pressor pain. Image calibration studies (Studies 1-2) ensured that the imagery interventions were matched for other important parameters including affect and vividness. Studies 3 and 4 found that imagery-based attentional coping strategies led to increased tolerance of cold-pressor pain relative to a no-treatment control. Study 3 found that younger children (7-9 years) had better pain outcomes when assigned to the distraction condition than the sensory-focussing condition. For older children (10-14 years) the efficacy of different attentional interventions depended on the degree to which the strategy matched the child's preferred use of distraction as a coping style, providing partial support for the congruence hypothesis. Studies 5-6 tested the novel hypothesis that provision of sensory information before a painful experience may enhance the efficacy of an attentional coping strategy such as distraction. In line with self-regulation theory, children who received preparatory sensory information as well as a distraction intervention showed longer pain tolerance, lower pain intensity ratings, and a trend towards less facial pain expressions than if they received either intervention alone. These findings are discussed in terms of key attentional theories, and theories of attentional development. Implications for theory, clinical practice and further research are also considered.

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The main purpose of this series of studies was to investigate the efficacy of attentional coping strategies in altering children's responses to a painful experience. After a review of the theoretical and empirical links between pain experience and attention, Studies 1-4 compared the efficacy of imagery-based strategies that focussed attention away from a painful experience (distraction) or towards a painful experience (sensory-focussing) on 7- to 14-year-old children??s responses to cold-pressor pain. Image calibration studies (Studies 1-2) ensured that the imagery interventions were matched for other important parameters including affect and vividness. Studies 3 and 4 found that imagery-based attentional coping strategies led to increased tolerance of cold-pressor pain relative to a no-treatment control. Study 3 found that younger children (7-9 years) had better pain outcomes when assigned to the distraction condition than the sensory-focussing condition. For older children (10-14 years) the efficacy of different attentional interventions depended on the degree to which the strategy matched the child's preferred use of distraction as a coping style, providing partial support for the congruence hypothesis. Studies 5-6 tested the novel hypothesis that provision of sensory information before a painful experience may enhance the efficacy of an attentional coping strategy such as distraction. In line with self-regulation theory, children who received preparatory sensory information as well as a distraction intervention showed longer pain tolerance, lower pain intensity ratings, and a trend towards less facial pain expressions than if they received either intervention alone. These findings are discussed in terms of key attentional theories, and theories of attentional development. Implications for theory, clinical practice and further research are also considered.

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Driving is a complex task that is highly reliant on attention. Research states that distractions cause performance errors thus it is important to find ways to reduce driver distraction or assist drivers with ways to improve their cognitive resources if distraction is unavoidable. Moreover, research indicates that action video game players outperform non-players on labbased tests of visual and cognitive abilities. However, research also exists that is contrary to these findings. Some researchers suggest that methodological deficiencies could be the cause of the significant findings in the literature. With such fervor of debate on the subject, the question remains of whether players acquire skills through playing action video games and if so can these games be used as research or training tools to enhance performance on realistic tasks. To answer this question, 45 male participants were tested using psychometric measures of spatial ability (Spatial orientation and visualization) and failures of attention (Cognitive Failures Questionnaire), and then all participants drove four 10-minute drives in a driving simulator. The first drive was a practice, followed by a control drive. Participants were then distracted using a hands free phone conversation. Following that, participants completed a final control drive. Both overall video game experience and action video game experience was positively related to higher spatial ability scores. Additionally, participants with higher action game experience exhibited fewer lane deviations during driving overall, but not during the distraction condition. On the other hand, participants with higher spatial ability scores exhibited fewer lane deviations during the distraction condition, but not during the control drives. Furthermore, action video game experience was not significant on the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire. Therefore, it was concluded that individuals who have higher action game experience do not show improvements on any iv abilities of attention tested in this study. However, higher experience action video game players may perform better in simulated environments than those with less experience.

Anxiety is marked by impaired inhibition of distraction (Eysenck et al., 2007). It is unclear whether these impairments are reduced or exacerbated when loading working memory (WM) with non-affective information. Cardiac vagal control has been related to emotion regulation and may serve as a proxy for load-related inhibition under anxiety (Thayer and Lane, 2009). The present study examined whether: (1) the enhancing and impairing effects of load on inhibition exist together in a nonlinear function, (2) there is a similar association between inhibition and concurrent vagal control, (3) nonlinear relations depend on trait anxiety. During anxiogenic threat-of-noise, 116 subjects maintained a digit series of varying lengths (0, 2, 4, 6 digits) while completing a visual flanker task. The task was broken into four blocks, with a baseline period preceding each. ECG was acquired throughout to quantify vagal control as high-frequency heart rate variability (HRV). There were significant quadratic relations of WM load to flanker performance and to HRV, but no associations between HRV and performance. Trait anxiety did not moderate any relations among HRV, load, and inhibition. Results indicate that low load was associated with relatively better inhibition and increased HRV. Findings suggest that attentional performance under anxiety depends on the availability of WM resources, which might be reflected by vagal control. These results have implications for treating anxiety disorders, in which emotion regulation can be optimized for attentional focus. / Ph. D.

The purpose of the current study was to empirically examine the effects of accident scenes on eye movement as well as driving behavior. Fifty-four participants drove in a driving simulator wearing a head-mounted eye-tracker in three experimental drives, one of which had an accident scene. The participants were put into one of three different conditions (no barrier, partial barrier, or full barrier). The results showed significant main effects of distraction (accident vs. no accident) on dwell frequency and duration, average speed, and root mean square error of the steering wheel angle during the drive with the accident scenes. In addition, the results also showed significant interaction effects between distraction and type of barrier (no, partial, or full) on dwell frequency and duration. The full barrier condition had the biggest effect on decreasing dwell duration and frequency. The findings support the Salience Effort Expectancy Value (SEEV) model of attention and previous research stating objects high in salience attract attention (Wickens & Horrey, 2008; Itti & Koch, 2000). These findings also support previous research by Mayer, Caird, Milloy, Percival, & Ohlhauser (2010) stating that drivers drive in the safest manner (lowest passing speed) when an emergency vehicles are present with the emergency lights on. Temporary barriers could be used to help decrease the effects of rubbernecking on highways when an accident scene is present (Masinick & Teng, 2004; Potts, Harwood, Hutton, & Kinzel, 2010)

This study examined the changes that occur in spontaneous speech when speakers are distracted by background audio. Forty young adults answered open ended questions under five audio conditions (pink noise, movie dialogue, heated debate, classical music, and contemporary music) and a silent condition. Acoustic parameters assessed during the sessions included mean and variability of the fundamental frequency (F0), mean and variability of intensity, speaking time ratio, and disfluency ratio. It was hypothesized that there would be significant increases in the mean and variability of F0 as well as the mean and variability of intensity. There were statistically significant increases in mean and variability of intensity and mean F0 across most audio conditions. There were no significant changes in variability of intensity in the pink noise condition and no significant changes in variability of F0 in any audio condition. We hypothesized that the speaking time ratio would decrease in the presence of background audio compared to the silent baseline. Results demonstrate significant increases in speaking time ratio except for the classical music condition. It was expected that the disfluency ratio of speech production for each participant would increase in the presence of background audio, with informational masking demonstrating the most increase. Results revealed a significant increase in disfluency ratios across background audio conditions except for the pink noise and classical music conditions. Participants reported the heated debate and contemporary music to be the most distracting. These results have potential clinical implications regarding the type of environment where therapy is given, and what type of everyday situations might cause the most difficulties with fluency as well as the processing and production of speech.

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