Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40989221›Full record

ArticleJournal of eye movement research2025

Spatial Guidance Overrides Dynamic Saliency in VR: An Eye-Tracking Study on Gestalt Grouping Mechanisms and Visual Attention Patterns.

Qiaoling Zou, Wanyu Zheng, Xinyan Jiang, Dongning Li

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of eye movement research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Qiaoling ZouSchool of Design, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; 7220306012@stu.jiangnan.edu.cn.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8907-6161
Wanyu ZhengSchool of Digital Technology & Innovation Design, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214401, China; 6220306059@stu.jiangnan.edu.cn.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1107-2380
Xinyan JiangSchool of Theatre and Film, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030032, China; jiangxinyan@sxnu.edu.cn.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8140-654X
Dongning LiSchool of Digital Technology & Innovation Design, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214401, China; 6220306059@stu.jiangnan.edu.cn.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2893-1432

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

(1) Background: Virtual Reality (VR) films challenge traditional visual cognition by offering novel perceptual experiences. This study investigates the applicability of Gestalt grouping principles in dynamic VR scenes, the influence of VR environments on grouping efficiency, and the relationship between viewer experience and grouping effects. (2) Methods: Eye-tracking experiments were conducted with 42 participants using the HTC Vive Pro Eye and Tobii Pro Lab. Participants watched a non-narrative VR film with fixed camera positions to eliminate narrative and auditory confounds. Eye-tracking metrics were analyzed using SPSS version 29.0.1, and data were visualized through heat maps and gaze trajectory plots. (3) Results: Viewers tended to focus on spatial nodes and continuous structures. Initial fixations were anchored near the body but shifted rapidly thereafter. Heat maps revealed a consistent concentration of fixations on the dock area. (4) Conclusions: VR reshapes visual organization, where proximity, continuity, and closure outweigh traditional saliency. Dynamic elements draw attention only when linked to user goals. Designers should prioritize spatial logic, using functional nodes as cognitive anchors and continuous paths as embodied guides. Future work should test these mechanisms in narrative VR and explore neural correlates via fNIRS or EEG.

Indexed as

dynamic saliencyeye-trackingGestaltspatial guidancevirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID40989221
PMCPMC12452573

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.