The interaction of attention and action: From seeing action to acting on perception

Glyn Humphreys, Eun-Young Yoon, Sanjay Kumar, Vaia Lestou, Keiko Kitadono, Katherine Roberts, Margaret Riddoch

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We discuss evidence indicating that human visual attention is strongly modulated by the potential of objects for action. The possibility of action between multiple objects enables the objects to be attended as a single group, and the fit between individual objects in a group and the action that can be performed influences responses to group members. In addition, having a goal state to perform a particular action affects the stimuli that are selected along with the features and area of space that is attended. These effects of action may reflect statistical learning between environmental cues that are linked by action and/or the coupling between perception and action systems in the brain. The data support the argument that visual selection is a flexible process that emerges as a need to prioritize objects for action.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)185-206
Number of pages22
JournalBritish Journal of Psychology
Volume101
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2010

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