Semantic effect on visual exploration patterns among young and older adults

Free viewing is affected by various of bottom-up and top-down factors. Previous experiments have shown how the balance between these processes evolves across adulthood. Specifically, it has been demonstrated that, compared to younger adults, older adults tend to rely more on semantic knowledge than on visual details when retrieving encoded information. However, the way in which this tendency affects visual perception, beyond memory processes, remains relatively unexplored. In a prior exploratory study (Experiment A), we examined the effect of semantic processing on visual exploration by investigating the temporal dynamics of eye movements in young and older adults while they freely viewed meaningful and abstract objects. The present study aims to replicate the findings of experiment A.