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Presentation: Deployments of spatial attention - exploring and engaging with the visual world

Abstract:  Deployments of spatial attention (how we change our allocation of spatial attention across time) define our experience of the visual world, because they determine which information is subjected to higher-order cognitive processing. However, despite the ubiquity of these deployments in daily life and the considerable body of research which has sought to understand them, many key questions about how we allocate spatial attention remain unresolved. My PhD research has taken an expansive approach to understanding deployments of spatial attention, investigating (1) how we measure and conceptualise spatial attention, (2) how spatial attention is implicated in complex everyday activities such as driving, and (3) the unique and characteristic ways that each one of us explores and engages with the world around us. Ultimately, my research has shown that there are striking individual differences in the ways that we deploy spatial attention which are robustly linked to other facets of how we experience the world around us.

Bio: Nick is a final-year research PhD candidate working under the supervision of A/Prof Stephanie Goodhew in the School of Medicine and Psychology. His PhD research has explored diverse topics in the domain of spatial attention, with a particular focus on translating theoretical insights into applied contexts. He has recently accepted a postdoctoral research position at UNSW working under Prof Mike Le Pelley, where he will apply the knowledge developed in his PhD to improve our understanding of the relationship between attention and decision-making. Nick’s presentation today will serve as his final oral presentation for his candidature.