In the present eye-tracking study, we analysed the visuo-spatial attentional patterns of participants looking at 3D images depicting single tools and object-tool pairs. The object-tool pairs could be thematically consistent, thematically inconsistent or spatially inconsistent. During the first 500 ms of visual exploration, tools were fixated longer on their functional area in all experimental conditions. However, extending the time-window of analysis to 1750 ms, the visual scene was encoded in a faster and more suited-for-action way in the thematically consistent condition (e.g., hammer-nail). Most important, the visual exploration of the thematically consistent pairs focused on the manipulation area of the tool (e.g., the handle of the hammer) more than on its functional area (e.g., the head of the hammer). Finally, when single tools were shown and the entire time-window of analysis was considered (1750 ms), fixation focused on the tool's manipulation area. These results are discussed within the reasoning-based framework of tool use. They highlight the relative role of the visuo-perceptual context in affordance perception and suggest a novel interpretation of the cognitive mechanisms underlying the processing of tools and object-tool pairs in terms of action reappraisal (i.e., a re-functionalization process when the action possibility is mined by the visuo-perceptual context).

中文翻译：

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工具和对象的能力：生态眼动研究。

在当前的眼动追踪研究中，我们分析了参与者在观看3D图像（描述单个工具和对象-工具对）时的视觉空间注意模式。对象-工具对在主题上可以是一致的，在主题上不一致或在空间上不一致。在视觉探索的前500毫秒内，在所有实验条件下，工具在其功能区域上的固定时间都更长。但是，将分析的时间窗口扩展到1750 ms，在主题一致的条件下（例如，锤子钉），以更快，更适合动作的方式对视觉场景进行了编码。最重要的是，对主题上一致的对的视觉探索更多地集中在工具的操作区域（例如，锤子的手柄）上，而不是功能区域（例如，锤子的头部）上。最后，当显示单个工具并考虑整个分析时间窗口（1750毫秒）时，固定着眼于工具的操作区域。在基于推理的工具使用框架内讨论了这些结果。他们强调了视觉感知语境在能力感知中的相对作用，并提出了对工具和对象工具对处理基础的认知机制的新解释，以重新评估行动（即，当行动可能时进行重新功能化过程）是通过视觉-感知上下文来挖掘的。