Abstract
Visual search is a fundamental cognitive ability. This study investigates whether Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) exhibit human-like difficulty signatures in visual search tasks. We compared search performance of humans (n = 1,250) and MLLMs using identical 2D and 3D stimuli across different set sizes. Both groups showed efficient performance in feature searches, most clearly when the target had a unique color, but performance degradation in conjunction searches as set sizes increased. Additionally, we found strong correlations between human and MLLM error rates ($ρ= 0.82$), which suggests that MLLMs are sensitive to similar objective complexities, such as stimulus heterogeneity. However, differences were found as well: whereas humans invested extra search time to respond accurately on target-absent trials, MLLMs exhibited extreme present/absent response biases in complex searches. We conclude that MLLMs replicate high-level human performance signatures, yet their underlying computations differ significantly.
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Subject
Publication details
- DOI
- 10.1007/s42113-026-00333-4
- Journal
- Not available
- Open access
- Green open access
Cite this article
APA 7
Zhang, R., de Winter, J. C. F., Dodou, D., Seyffert, H. C., & Eisma, Y. B. (2026). Human-Like Attention? A Psychophysical Comparison of Visual Search in Humans and MLLMs. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42113-026-00333-4
MLA 9
Zhang, Renchi, et al. "Human-Like Attention? A Psychophysical Comparison of Visual Search in Humans and MLLMs." https://doi.org/10.1007/s42113-026-00333-4.
Chicago (author–date)
Zhang, Renchi, Joost C. F. de Winter, Dimitra Dodou, Harleigh C. Seyffert, and Yke Bauke Eisma. 2026. "Human-Like Attention? A Psychophysical Comparison of Visual Search in Humans and MLLMs." https://doi.org/10.1007/s42113-026-00333-4.
Harvard
Zhang, R., de Winter, J. C. F., Dodou, D., Seyffert, H. C. and Eisma, Y. B. (2026) 'Human-Like Attention? A Psychophysical Comparison of Visual Search in Humans and MLLMs', doi:10.1007/s42113-026-00333-4.
Vancouver
Zhang R, de Winter JCF, Dodou D, Seyffert HC, Eisma YB. Human-Like Attention? A Psychophysical Comparison of Visual Search in Humans and MLLMs. doi:10.1007/s42113-026-00333-4
IEEE
R. Zhang, J. C. F. de Winter, D. Dodou, H. C. Seyffert, and Y. B. Eisma, "Human-Like Attention? A Psychophysical Comparison of Visual Search in Humans and MLLMs," doi: 10.1007/s42113-026-00333-4.