Investigating the interplay of bottom-up and top-down attention in hazard recognition: Insights from immersive virtual reality, eye-tracking and electroencephalography

Abstract

The construction industry’s high-risk environment demands effective hazard recognition strategies. Attention, a critical cognitive process, plays a crucial role in this task. Previous research focused on individual attention process, such as sustained attention, selective and divided attention. However, no research has been conducted to investigate the effects of the interplay between endogenous and exogenous factors on hazard recognition in construction settings. This paper aims to investigate the effects of the interplay between top-down (T-D) and bottom-up (B-U) attention networks on hazard recognition, using immersive virtual reality (IVR), eye tracking (ET), and electroencephalography (EEG). Two safety interventions—augmented stimuli and toolbox meetings—were tested in a dynamic IVR construction site. The results showed that both augmented stimuli and the safety toolbox meeting significantly affected B-U, T-D, and hazard recognition. This paper provided evidence that the interplay between B-U and T-D can significantly improve workers’ hazard recognition performance. The results improved our understanding of the mechanisms that control selective attention and the source of guidance over attention orientation. By demonstrating that T-D and B-U processes can work together rather than in isolation, this research contributes a key theoretical insight: attentional orientation in hazardous construction environments is neither fully determined by external stimuli nor entirely controlled by internal cognitive sets. In addition, this paper highlights and calls for an integrated approach to improving worker’s hazard recognition performance, by combining digital-technology-enabled stimuli with safety-goal-oriented training and managerial practices.