Work

Visual attention modulates the integration of goal-relevant evidence and not value

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: When choosing between options, such as food items presented in plain view, people tend to choose the option they spend longer looking at. The prevailing interpretation is that visual attention increases value. However, in previous studies, 'value' was coupled to a behavioural goal, since subjects had to choose the item they preferred. This makes it impossible to discern if visual attention has an effect on value, or, instead, if attention modulates the information most relevant for the goal of the decision-maker. Here, we present the results of two independent studies-a perceptual and a value-based task-that allow us to decouple value from goal-relevant information using specific task-framing. Combining psychophysics with computational modelling, we show that, contrary to the current interpretation, attention does not boost value, but instead it modulates goal-relevant information. This work provides a novel and more general mechanism by which attention interacts with choice.

Source: eLife

DOI: 10.7554/elife.60705

Authors: Pradyumna Sepulveda, Marius Usher, Ned Davies, Amy Benson, Pietro Ortoleva, Benedetto De Martino

Institutions: University College London, Tel Aviv University, Princeton University, Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging

Language: English

Topic: Visual perception and processing mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,500

Funders: Wellcome Trust, Agenția Națională pentru Cercetare și Dezvoltare, Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, CHIST-ERA