Selective Attention and Eye Movements While Viewing Reversible Figures

This study suggests that different eye-movement patterns are associated with reversals of ambiguous figures. The high scanners seem to be more dependent on eye movements for reversals and their recognition of each pattern depends on the sequence and location of fixations; thus shifts of attention appear to be externalized in the form of large, saccadic eye movements. In contrast low scanners are better able to shift attention internally, eg., by mental restructuring, without large eye movements. We further suggest that scanning behavior associated with reversals may be modulated by stimulus complexity, figures' reversibility, and extrinsic/intrinsic motivational styles.