What to expect where and when: how statistical learning drives visual selection. 2022

Jan Theeuwes, and Louisa Bogaerts, and Dirk van Moorselaar
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute Brain and Behavior (iBBA), Amsterdam, the Netherlands; William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitario, Lisbon, Portugal. Electronic address: j.theeuwes@vu.nl.

While the visual environment contains massive amounts of information, we should not and cannot pay attention to all events. Instead, we need to direct attention to those events that have proven to be important in the past and suppress those that were distracting and irrelevant. Experiences molded through a learning process enable us to extract and adapt to the statistical regularities in the world. While previous studies have shown that visual statistical learning (VSL) is critical for representing higher order units of perception, here we review the role of VSL in attentional selection. Evidence suggests that through VSL, attentional priority settings are optimally adjusted to regularities in the environment, without intention and without conscious awareness.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007858 Learning Relatively permanent change in behavior that is the result of past experience or practice. The concept includes the acquisition of knowledge. Phenomenography
D003243 Consciousness Sense of awareness of self and of the environment. Consciousnesses
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000222 Adaptation, Physiological The non-genetic biological changes of an organism in response to challenges in its ENVIRONMENT. Adaptation, Physiologic,Adaptations, Physiologic,Adaptations, Physiological,Adaptive Plasticity,Phenotypic Plasticity,Physiological Adaptation,Physiologic Adaptation,Physiologic Adaptations,Physiological Adaptations,Plasticity, Adaptive,Plasticity, Phenotypic
D014796 Visual Perception The selecting and organizing of visual stimuli based on the individual's past experience. Visual Processing,Perception, Visual,Processing, Visual
D033182 Intention What a person has in mind to do or bring about. Intentions

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