CHAOYING DAI¹, Yang Sun¹; ¹Shenyang Normal University, Liao Ning, China

Abstract Self-associated stimuli typically enjoy prioritized access within visual processing, suggesting that self-relevance functions as a high-value signal within the perceptual priority map. Yet it remains unresolved whether external reward value alters this intrinsic prioritization—or whether the visual system treats self-related information as a value source independent of incentive cues. To address this, we conducted five perceptual matching experiments manipulating reward magnitude (high/medium/low) and reward probability (high/low), and examined how these value parameters modulate evidence accumulation and attentional gain for self- vs. other-associated stimuli. Across studies, we replicated a robust Self-Prioritization Effect (SPE), reflected by faster and more accurate responses to self-associated stimuli. Crucially, modulation of SPE emerged only when reward magnitude and probability were jointly considered. Neither dimension alone was sufficient to alter perceptual priority, indicating that a single value input does not override baseline self-weighting in visual selection. However, when expected value was equivalent, high-magnitude/low-probability reward selectively increased the attentional gain of self-related stimuli relative to other stimuli. Moreover, probability effects surfaced only under high-magnitude conditions, suggesting that reward value influences perceptual evidence weighting only when motivational strength surpasses a threshold—consistent with a non-linear or gate-like integration mechanism. These findings support the idea that self-relevance establishes a strong baseline in the visual priority map, while reward magnitude provides an additive value signal that can amplify perceptual weighting. In contrast, reward probability contributes only under sufficiently high motivational drive, indicating that visual value integration is not purely multiplicative but conditionally modulated. This work refines our understanding of value-driven visual selection and reveals how intrinsic (self) and extrinsic (reward) value jointly shape early perceptual prioritization. Keywords: self-prioritization effect, value-driven attention, reward magnitude, reward probability, perceptual matching

Acknowledgements: Shenyang Normal University