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Attentional capture by motion onsets is modulated by perceptual load
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Attentional capture by motion onsets is modulated by perceptual load

Joshua Cosman and Shaun Vecera
Attention, perception & psychophysics, Vol.72(8), pp.2096-2105
11/2010
DOI: 10.3758/BF03196686
url
https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196686View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The onset of motion captures attention during visual search even if the motion is not task relevant, which suggests that motion onsets capture attention in a stimulus-driven manner. However, we have recently shown that stimulus-driven attentional capture by abruptly appearing objects is attenuated under conditions of high perceptual load. In the present study, we examined the influence of perceptual load on attentional capture by another type of dynamic stimulus: the onset of motion. Participants searched for a target letter through briefly presented low- and high-load displays. On each trial, two irrelevant flankers also appeared, one with a motion onset and one that was static. Flankers defined by a motion onset captured attention in the low-load but not in the high-load displays. This modulation of capture in high-load displays was not the result of overall lengthening of reaction times (RTs) in this condition, since search for a single low-contrast target lengthened RTs but did not influence capture. These results, together with those of previous studies, suggest that perceptual load can modulate attentional capture by dynamic stimuli.
 Cognitive Psychology Psychology

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