Curious Objects: How Visual Complexity Guides Attention and Engagement

Some things look more complex than others. For example, a crenulate and richly organized leaf may seem plain stone. What is the nature of this experience—and why do we have it in first place? Here, explore how object complexity serves as an efficiently extracted visual signal that merits further exploration. We algorithmically generated library geometric shapes determined their by computing cumulative surprisal internal skeletons—essentially quantifying “amount information” within each shape—and then used approach to ask new questions about perception complexity. Experiments 1–3 asked what kind mental process extracts complexity: slow, deliberate, reflective (as when decide expensive or popular) fast, effortless, automatic see big blue)? placed simple objects search arrays discovered were easier find among distractors are distractors—a classic asymmetry indicating prioritized processing. Next, explored function Why represent 4–5 subjects study serially presented self-paced manner (for later memory test); dwelled longer on objects—even shape was completely task-irrelevant—suggesting connection between exploratory engagement. Finally, Experiment 6 connected these implicit measures explicit judgments. Collectively, findings suggest automatically, even arouses “perceptual curiosity” encourages subsequent attentional