Journal article
Perceptual load modulates attentional capture by abrupt onsets
Psychonomic bulletin & review, Vol.16(2), pp.404-410
04/2009
DOI: 10.3758/PBR.16.2.404
PMID: 19293114
Abstract
The abrupt appearance of a new object captures attention, even when the object is task irrelevant. These findings suggest that abrupt onsets capture attention in a stimulus-driven manner and are not susceptible to top-down influences on attentional control. However, previous studies examining the ability of abrupt onsets to capture attention have used search displays that lacked significant complexity. Because attention is a limited capacity mechanism, it is possible that increasing the complexity, or perceptual load, of the search arrays may modulate capture by abrupt onsets. We used a flanker task to examine the effect of perceptual load on attentional capture by abruptly appearing objects. Subjects searched for a target letter through low-load (set size = 1) and high-load (set size = 6) displays. On each trial, irrelevant flankers also appeared, one as an onset and the other as an offset. Onset flankers affected search in low-load but not high-load displays. This modulation of attentional capture was not caused by generalized slowing when subjects searched through high-load displays; search for a single perceptually degraded target slowed response times but did not affect attentional capture. These findings demonstrate that attentional capture by an abrupt onset is attenuated when people search through high-load scenes.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Perceptual load modulates attentional capture by abrupt onsets
- Creators
- Joshua D Cosman - University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1407, USA. joshua-cosman@uiowa.eduShaun P Vecera
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Psychonomic bulletin & review, Vol.16(2), pp.404-410
- Publisher
- United States
- DOI
- 10.3758/PBR.16.2.404
- PMID
- 19293114
- ISSN
- 1069-9384
- eISSN
- 1531-5320
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/2009
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984066137702771
Metrics
70 Record Views