Visual expertise is more than meets the eye: an examination of holistic visual processing in radiologists and architects

Spencer Ivy; Taren Rohovit; Jeanine Stefanucci; Dustin Stokes; Megan Mills; Trafton Drew

doi:10.1117/1.JMI.10.1.015501

24 January 2023 Visual expertise is more than meets the eye: an examination of holistic visual processing in radiologists and architects

Spencer Ivy, Taren Rohovit, Jeanine Stefanucci, Dustin Stokes, Megan Mills, Trafton Drew

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Medical Imaging, Vol. 10, Issue 1, 015501 (January 2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMI.10.1.015501

Abstract

Purpose

One of the dominant behavioral markers of visual-expert search strategy, holistic visual processing (HVP), suggests that experts process information from a larger region of space in conjunction with a more focused gaze pattern to improve search speed and accuracy. To date, extant literature suggests that visual search expertise is domain specific, including HVP and its associated behaviors.

Approach

The current study is the first to use eye tracking to directly measure the HVP strategies of two expert groups, radiologists and architects, in comparison to one another and a novice control.

Results

In doing so, we replicated and extended this prior research: visual expertise is domain specific. However, our eye-tracking data indicate that contrary to this prior work, HVP strategies are transferable across domains. Yet, despite the transfer of HVP strategies, there is neither reduced search time nor greater accuracy in visual search outside of an expert’s domain.

Conclusions

Therefore, our data suggest that HVP behaviors are a particular form of visual search mechanism that, outside of an expert’s native search-ecology, are not necessarily conducive to more general visual search success. It is in addition to explicit knowledge of an expert’s domain, how to search, and where to search, that HVP strategies are their most effective for visual search success.

Citation Download Citation

Spencer Ivy, Taren Rohovit, Jeanine Stefanucci, Dustin Stokes, Megan Mills, and Trafton Drew "Visual expertise is more than meets the eye: an examination of holistic visual processing in radiologists and architects," Journal of Medical Imaging 10(1), 015501 (24 January 2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMI.10.1.015501

Received: 26 July 2022; Accepted: 2 January 2023; Published: 24 January 2023

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