Predicting Cognitive Strategies and Eye Movements in Hierarchical Visual Search

This article advances computational cognitive modeling of visual search, and the synergistic relationship between cognitive modeling and eye tracking. The paper presents cognitive models of the perceptual, cognitive, and motor processing involved in the visual search of a hierarchical layout. Two types of visual layouts are searched: unlabeled layouts in which words are arranged in groups but with no hierarchical organization, and labeled layouts in which each group is given a heading that guides the search. The two types of layouts motivate fundamentally different search strategies. The models are post hoc explanatory models of the search time data and a priori predictive models of the eye movement data. The models are evaluated here based on the eye movement data. The research demonstrates a methodology and provides guidance for predictive cognitive modeling of visual search.