Poster Session: In search of Attention Restoration: does the statistical stability of natural images support enhanced visual cognition?

Stable visual ensemble statistics can support performance on a visual search task (e.g. Corbett and Melcher, 2014). Such results may indicate improvements in the efficiency of visual cognition in response to a more predictable environment. Observations of improved cognition when immersed in nature (e.g. Berman et al., 2008) have been related to concepts of perceptual fluency and Attention Restoration. We investigated whether the statistical stability of natural scenes could be the underlying mechanism supporting enhancements in visual cognition related to natural images. In experiment 1, we replicated the first study from Corbett and Melcher (2014), showing that sequences of trials with a stable mean size of Gabor elements results in enhanced visual search for an orientation singleton target, compared to sequences with an unstable mean size. In experiment 2, we embedded visual search targets within a set of natural scene images. We leveraged existing variation in the image statistics between images to present sequences where the slope of the Fourier amplitude spectrum was relatively stable (gradually increasing/decreasing) or unstable (randomly ordered). The results have implications for our understanding of the effect of the visual environment on visuo-cognitive functions and the extraction of image statistics by the visual system. We discuss the likely role for eye movements in sampling natural scenes.