Environmental volatility is associated with adaptive caution in visual search.

High environmental volatility increases response caution in visual search, with longer response times, more fixations, and longer final-target dwell times, without changing target-acquisition latency.

• Why it matters: Understanding how environmental volatility influences visual attention and decision-making is crucial for models of adaptive behavior in dynamic settings, where distractor presence varies unpredictably.
• What they did: Observers performed a singleton search task with eye tracking under high- or low-volatility distractor sequences, while analyses included hierarchical drift-diffusion modeling and a volatility Kalman-filter, with distractor prevalence held constant.
• The result: Findings suggest that increased response caution under high volatility arises after the first saccade, reflecting a precision-weighted adjustment to environmental uncertainty, rather than changes in oculomotor capture.