Understanding Visual Attention in Inmates vs. the General Population: The Role of the K Coefficient in Eye-Tracking Research

Although attention patterns are crucial in aggression, their dynamics remain understudied. This study investigates how attentional allocation, measured by the K coefficient, changes across different phases of scene exploration in response to hostile, ambiguous, and non-hostile cues. The study involved two groups: 123 adults from the general population and 66 offenders convicted of violent crimes. Participants completed an eye-tracking task, viewing images of hostile, non-hostile, or ambiguous social interactions.Overall, offenders exhibited less focal attention (i.e., lower K coefficient) compared to non-offenders, indicating a greater reliance on ambient processing. Specifically, offenders demonstrated more ambient attention during both the initial and late phases of viewing hostile scenes but more focal attention during the initial phase of non-hostile scenes. They also displayed increased focal attention when viewing ambiguous trials compared to hostile ones. These findings highlight significant differences in how offenders process threatening or socially complex information over time, suggesting a distinct attentional pattern in response to different types of social cues. The findings support two theoretical frameworks. First, they align with the Dual Mode Social Processing model, suggesting offenders use automatic, schema-driven attention for hostile contexts and more reflective processing for ambiguous situations. Second, they are consistent with the schema inconsistency hypothesis, as ambiguous and non-hostile scenes, which likely challenge existing expectations, attracted greater focal attention.