'Reading' the video screen: Psychological measurement of spatial attention and perceptual asymmetries within television, video, and computer monitors

A perceptual model of the video monitor was developed that outlines a pattern of "distorted" perception and attention to the monitor and "camera" movements. It was hypothesized that the processing of the video screen is spatially asymmetrical due to (1) innate perceptual biases in the processing of stimuli varying in orientation and direction of motion, and (2) the influence of automatic visual routines developed during long term exposure to print media.; Ten structural hypotheses were tested in a set of two experiments. The first experiment used computer generated stimuli to test the influence of the direction, orientation, and the speed of frame movement (camera movement) on the perception of motion and duration. The experiment also tested the effect of the screen location of a moving object on these same dependent variables.; The second experiment mapped out the effect of zooming on the allocation of spatial attention. A "default" structure of spatial attention to the video screen was also defined. The hypotheses were tested using film stimuli and full report methodology for visual materials presented at very brief durations (60 msecs).; The results indicated that the perception of camera movement and location within a video monitor is skewed and asymmetrical. The findings support the theory that the video monitor is "read" with a "literate" bias. It was found that frame movement (camera movement) in the literate directions (left-to-right, top-to-bottom) appeared to move faster and also appeared shorter in duration. It was also found, as predicted, that spatial attention is biased towards the right and upper halves of the video monitor. Spatial attention to the upper right quadrant was particularly strong while attention to the lower left quadrant was much less than would be expected by chance. It was concluded that these "biases" are largely due to the effect of literacy.