| Mission Statement
 The
Visual Attention Laboratory (VAL) conducts experimental and theoretical
investigations in order to better understand some of the bottlenecks
in human visual information processing, especially as these pertain
to people’s ability to visually attend to several things at
once. The theoretical perspective behind this work is called the
Visual Indexing Theory. This theory has broad application to many
different phenomena involving visual perception and mental imagery.
This internship program is conducted under
the supervision of Professor Zenon Pylyshyn.
General topic of the
research
The
experiments currently being carried out in this laboratory investigate
the nature of visual attention and study people’s ability
to split their visual attention among several objects or locations.
One of the primary techniques used in this laboratory is called
Multiple Object Tracking or MOT,
a procedure which requires subjects to track several objects (the
Targets) displayed on a screen which move randomly and independently
among a set of identical moving Nontargets that must be ignored.
Using MOT, we have shown that people can normally keep track of
about four or five moving objects, even when they are mixed in with
four other identical moving objects. This technique has proven useful
for exploring a range of questions concerning human visual information
processing. Over 20 papers have been published using variants of
this method. In the present series of studies, we will examine certain
factors that affect this ability. In particular, we will test a
number of ideas concerning what limits the number of objects that
can be tracked (to about 4 or 5).
Objectives of the
Internship Program
The research
internship program was designed to familiarize students with the
steps involved in developing a research project, including:
Understanding the initial motivating ideas behind the research.
Suggesting a rough design for an experiment.
Taking part in the preparation of stimulus materials.
Participating
in the design and execution of pilot studies.
Participating
in the preparation of a draft design of a full study.
Participating in the process of tuning various parameters of the
experiment by trying it out on themselves and other interns.
Participate
in the execution of the experiment.
Participate
in the analysis of data, which may lead to further studies.
To familiarize students with methods used to study human
information processing – including the use of animated sequences,
masking, or priming, and the measurement of reaction time, error
rates, and other measures of skilled performance. The use of appropriate
control conditions and baselines measures.
To familiarize students with the problems of discovering
patterns in the data. This will involve learning about various methods
of data summarization and statistical analysis tools. The importance
of interaction effects and methods of stage analysis in testing
theories. Guarding against speed-accuracy tradeoffs, response biases.
To provide practical experience in carrying out research
projects, analyzing data, and writing up and presenting results
in meetings (including experience in using specialized tools at
each stage of this process).
Steps towards meeting
these objectives
In order to
benefit fully from the training opportunities that you will receive
here in the lab, we require that all Rutgers University students
make a commitment of one full academic year.
Research Interns
(RI) will be trained in the use of laboratory techniques and methods.
These methods and techniques will be used for studies that are currently
fully designed and running, and for future studies that RIs are
encouraged to develop on their own.
We also provide short courses on
Excel, SPSS, PowerPoint, VisionShell, and the use of library resources.
Interns are expected to attend regular
lab meetings, and to participate fully in the discussion, and to
present at least one research article.
Tour of the Visual
Attention Lab
The Visual Attention Laboratory
is located in the annex section of the Psychology building, room
A132 on the Busch campus. Room A132 is where we have many informal
laboratory meetings, prepare experiments, read articles, meet subjects,
etc.
Some notes about
the Lab
Where
do things happen? – Experiments are run in room A132A, A136,
and A130. Weekly meetings are held in the RUCCS playroom (A139)
or the smaller LVR meeting room (A114). A map is reproduced in Appendix
A and is available on line at: http://zeus.rutgers.edu/~feher/lvrmap1/lvr_ruccs.html
Work Stations – There are
currently 10 computers for running experiments, analyzing data,
writing reports, and exchanging emails. Four of these will be assigned
to Research Interns. See Appendix B for a full description of equipment
available for RIs.
Reprint Box – Reprints of
articles relevant to research that is going on in the lab will be
placed in the reprint box.
Cork Board – The corkboard
contains all RI schedules, schedules for general psychology classes
where subjects can be solicited (with permission from the professors
in charge); subject sign-up sheets, directions for current experiments,
and other pertinent information.
Laboratory web site is at: http://ruccs.rutgers.edu/finstlab/finstsum
Responsibilities
Recruiting and running subjects
Putting
up signs, visiting classes with sign up forms (after obtaining permission
from the professors).
Working with subjects
Informed consent documentation
Talking with the subjects, answering questions, and formal feedback.
Heading subject payments when appropriate
Attending lab meetings
General lab meetings
are held weekly. Individual meetings between people involved in
particular projects and the PI are held weekly on a different day
from the general lab meetings. All members of the laboratory, including
staff and interns, are expected to attend all schedule meetings.
Presentations at
general lab meetings. Each lab member is expected to present a summary
of a relevant research article at least once per semester. The presentation
will summarize the main points of the article and its relevance
to the work the student is conducting in the laboratory. Other lab
members will also give periodic reports on the research projects
on which they are working. Presentations will be done in PowerPoint
Readings and library
research
Principal and secondary readings will be provided at the
start of the Internship. The principal readings are general articles
on the theme of the laboratory’s work and students are expected
to have read them within a few weeks of starting their internship.
Secondary readings will be placed in your mailbox as other lab members
find articles that are relevant to the lab’s research interests.
Along with the resources of the
Rutgers library, the secondary readings provide references for the
student’s presentation and paper. Students are expected to
become proficient in the use of the various library resources, including
on-line materials.
Acquiring research related
skills
Students are expected to acquire certain research-related skills
and in some cases will be aided in this process by lectures given
by staff and by the PI.
These include an
appreciating the ethical issues in human research. Anyone who supervises
the running of an experiment on human subjects is requiredto pass
the Human Subject Certification Program, an online
course required of individuals running experiments involving human
subjects. This is a requirement imposed by NIH and by the Rutgers
Internal Review Board.
Students will become
familiar with a number of tools used in data collection and analysis,
sufficient for using these tools (Though not necessarily for programming
new experiments or analyses from scratch).
These may include:
The use of computer based experiment- running software, such as
VisionShell, E-Prime, or Presentation. Optionally, students may
also become familiar with the use of the ISCAN eye
movement tracking equipment.
First-level knowledge of the use of tools for data-summarization,
graphing, analysis, and presentation. These may include Excel, SPSS,
PowerPoint, and other graphics software.
Other Things that
you might be asked to do
From time
to time, as time permits, interns may also be asked to carry out
some additional work for the laboratory, such as:
Help
maintain our database for research articles, including making Xerox
copies of articles
Organizing
a VAL library
Helping
to maintain our web page
Your Schedule
In the
first week of each semester interns will fill out an Excel spreadsheet
indicating when they are free to work in the lab. Based on the available
times a schedule will be worked out showing when each intern should
be in the lab. It is important that this schedule be adhered to.
If anyone needs to reschedule their committed time they must contact
Amir at least two days in advance by calling 732-445-6163 or by
email at amir@ruccs.rutgers.edu.
Of course, interns are free to come into the lab as often as they
wish.
Gathering data on human subjects
is a prime function of the laboratory. If you have made prior arrangements
to run subjects, it is your responsibility to try to arrange for
other members of the lab to take over for you in your absence.
Laboratory access
If you
plan to get to lab early in the morning, staying late at night,
or come in on the weekends then you will need outside door keys,
and lab keys. If this applies to you please discuss this with Amir
ASAP.
Please keep the doors to the lab
locked at all times when there is nobody in – this is an essential
security measure (computers have been known to disappear in the
past).
If you are locked out of VAL and
you cannot find an RA, a Post-Doc, or Zenon, please ask either Sue
Consentino in A133 or Jo'Ann Meli in A129 to let you into the lab.
Evaluation and Credit
Evaluation
of student’s work as an intern
Everyone intern is expected to take an active part in the regular
lab meetings and to present his or her ideas on ongoing research
projects.
Interns
will present an article at lab meetings.
Submit
a final report that would form the basis for a paper or a poster
or talk submitted to a national conference, such as the Cognitive
Science Society.
Evaluation
via the Research Assistant Evaluation form (See Appendix C).
Getting Academic Credit
for working in the lab
Research
in Psychology course credit – get forms from Zenon or Sue
Cosentino.
Honors Thesis in Psychology
Research in Cognitive Science course
credit.
Minor in Cognitive Science research
requirement.
Grading for Research in the Lab
will be based on attendance, performance of assigned duties, participation
in meetings, the Research Intern Evaluation form and the final report.
The grading will be submitted as required by the university and
will appear on letters of reference.
To obtain credit for a full Internship
a student must spend approximately 120 hours in the laboratory over
the summer and/or school term. Shorter periods can also be accommodated
but, depending on departmental requirements, may not earn a research
3 course credit, unless additional work is done.
Members of the lab
Zenon
Pylyshyn – Supervisor, 732.445.0635
zenon@ruccs.rutgers.edu http://ruccs.Rutgers.edu/faculty/Pylyshyn.html
Vidal
Annan – part time Post-Doctoral Fellow 732.445.6153
avidal@ruccs.rutgers.edu
Brian Keane –
Certificate Student and PhD candidate in Philosophy,732.932.9594
keane@philosophy.rutgers.edu
Ashley Black –
Research Assistant, 732.445.6163
smashly26@aol.com
Amir Amirrezvani
– Research Programmer and Lab Manager, 732.445.6163
amir@ruccs.rutgers.edu
Appendix A
(Also available at: http://zeus.Rutgers.edu/~feher/lvrmap1/lvr_ruccs.html )
Appendix B
Equipment
available to RI’s
The lab currently has 11 computers:
Dell PC computers, (at least 833 Mhz processor, 256 of RAM, 30 GB
hard drive, and a 64 MP video card), with Windows 2000 OS, with
Office 2000
3 older PCs (at least 233 Mhz processor, 16 MB RAM, and 2 GB hard
drive), with either Windows 98 or Windows 2000, with Office 98 or
Office 2000 respectively.
2 G4 Macs with 466 Mhz processor, 32 MB of RAM, 4 GB hard drive,
and a 2MB video card, with Mac OS 9.0.4, with Office 2000.
1 Power
PC Mac and 1 Quadra Mac.
ISCAN Eye-tracking equipment, both head-mounted and table-mounted.
All eye-tracking equipment is located in A130 and used jointly with
the human-computer interaction laboratory (“The Village”).
We are currently working on creating software to integrate the eye-tracking
equipment with the experiment-running that we are using in the lab.
Programming
All of the programming with the
Macs is done with VisionShell PPC 1.0, and the C programming is
done with Code Warrior 6.0.
On the PC’s we are using E-Prime,
Presentation, or Matlab with Psychophysical Toolbox
Data Analysis
First level data analysis, i.e.,
averages, t-tests, standard deviations are done with Excel. Full
analysis of variance is done with SPSS. Interns need to know how
to use Excel to summarize data and to construct charts and graphs.
Web
Development
We are using Dreamweaver 4
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