DOCSLIB.ORG

Positional Priming of Pop-Out Is Nested in Visuospatial Context Department of Psychology, # Ahu Gokce Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat,¨ Munchen,¨ Germany $

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Positional Priming of Pop-Out Is Nested in Visuospatial Context Department of Psychology, # Ahu Gokce Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat,¨ Munchen,¨ Germany $ Journal of Vision (2013) 13(3):32, 1–16 http://www.journalofvision.org/content/13/3/32 1 Positional priming of pop-out is nested in visuospatial context Department of Psychology, # Ahu Gokce Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat,¨ Munchen,¨ Germany $ Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat,¨ Munchen,¨ Germany Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, # Hermann J. Muller¨ University of London, UK $ Department of Psychology, # Thomas Geyer Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat,¨ Munchen,¨ Germany $ The present study investigated facilitatory and inhibitory decades. Shore and Klein (2000) argued that memory in positional priming using a variant of Maljkovic and search is organized around three different time scales, Nakayama’s (1996) priming of pop-out task. Here, the ranging from milliseconds and seconds through min- singleton target and the distractors could be presented in utes up to hours and days. Conceptually, these effects different visuospatial contexts—but identical screen have been attributed to visual short-term memory locations—across trials, permitting positional priming (vSTM) operating within (e.g., Soto, Hodsoll, Rotsh- based on individual locations to be disentangled from tein, & Humphreys, 2008) and across (Chun & priming based on interitem configural relations. The Nakayama, 2000) search trials. The third form, of results revealed both significant facilitatory priming, i.e., longer-lasting memory effects, has been attributed to faster reaction times (RTs) to target presented at previous configural learning, such as contextual cueing (e.g., target relative to previously empty locations, and Rosenbaum & Jiang, 2013). The present study is inhibitory priming, i.e., slower RTs to target at previous distractor relative to previously empty locations. concerned with one of these mechanisms: cross-trial However, both effects were contingent on repetitions priming of item locations (Maljkovic & Nakayama, versus changes of stimulus arrangement: While 1996). Specifically, we ask whether positional priming facilitation of target locations was dependent on the in visual pop-out search is influenced by factors related repetition of the exact item configuration (e.g., T-type to the visuospatial arrangement of the search items followed by T-type stimulus arrangement), the inhibitory and, if so, whether these factors differ between priming effect was more ‘‘tolerant,’’ being influenced by of target and distractor locations. repetitions versus changes of the item’s visuospatial In visual pop-out search, observers are required to category (T-type followed by Z-type pattern; cf. Garner & detect a singleton feature target (e.g., the only red vs. Clement, 1963). The results suggest that facilitatory and green colored target, with color being the selection- inhibitory priming are distinct phenomena (Finke et al., relevant attribute) and report another target feature 2009) and that both effects are sensitive to subtle (e.g., target cut-off side left vs. right; cut-off ‘‘orienta- information about the arrangement of the display items tion’’ would be the response-defining attribute). Inter- (Geyer, Zehetleitner, & Muller,¨ 2010). The results are trial priming refers to the fact that reaction times (RTs) discussed with respect to the stage(s) of visual pop-out are faster for repeated relative to nonrepeated item search that are influenced by positional priming. attributes (see, e.g., Fecteau & Munoz, 2003; Found & Mu¨ller, 1996; Goolsby & Suzuki, 2001; Kristja´nsson & Introduction Campana, 2010; Kristja´nsson & Driver, 2008; Lamy, Antebi, Aviani, & Carmel, 2008; Maljkovic & Na- kayama, 1994, 1996; Mu¨ller, Heller, & Ziegler, 1995; Trial-based memory guided attention Olivers & Meeter, 2006). Such priming effects have been reported for several stimulus attributes, such as The role of memory in visual search has been of features (which includes target and distractor features; great interest to researchers over the last one to two e.g., Lamy, Yashar, & Ruderman, 2010), dimensions Citation: Gokce, A., Muller,¨ H. J., & Geyer, T. (2013). Positional priming of pop-out is nested in visuospatial context. Journal of Vision, 13(3):32, 1–16, http://www.journalofvision.org/content/13/3/32, doi:10.1167/13.3.32. doi: 10.1167/13.3.32 Received January 31, 2013; published November 26, 2013 ISSN 1534-7362 Ó 2013 ARVO Downloaded from jov.arvojournals.org on 10/01/2021 Journal of Vision (2013) 13(3):32, 1–16 Gokce, Mu¨ller, & Geyer 2 (e.g., Found & Mu¨ller, 1996; To¨llner, Rangelov, & distractor inhibition, respectively. Further work (Malj- Mu¨ller, 2012), and locations (e.g., Geyer et al., 2010). kovic & Nakayama, 1996; experiment 3) indicated that Additionally, priming can also manifest for the search target locations are maintained in positional vSTM objects themselves (e.g., Huang, Holcombe, & Pashler, within an object-centered reference frame, in addition to 2004; Yashar & Lamy, 2011). Of particular relevance in location-specific representations. The crucial finding was the present context is Huang et al.’s (2004) report that that positional facilitation was still evident even when priming from the target’s selection-relevant feature only the target’s ‘‘relative’’ position was repeated across (size) was contingent on repetitions versus changes of trials. In this experiment, the three search items were the target’s response-relevant feature (orientation). presented in a ‘‘row’’ arrangement, with the target This led to the proposal that priming effects in visual appearing at the left, middle, or right position of the row. search reflect the operation of an episodic memory There were two conditions: ‘‘absolute-same’’ and ‘‘rela- mechanism that stores information about selection- tive-same.’’ In the absolute-same condition, the target relevant, response-relevant, and irrelevant target fea- was positioned at identical locations across trials, in tures (see also Hillstrom, 2000). At the core of this terms of both its exact (i.e., absolute) X-Y screen account is the idea that when processing the current coordinates and its relative row position. In the relative- display, observers match the target to other recently same condition, the target’s location was the same in the experienced items, particularly the target on the row, but this time the row of items was presented in a immediately preceding trial. A full match or full different display quadrant compared to the previous nonmatch can facilitate processing, whereas a partial trial. Both conditions yielded significant priming, sug- match can hinder search performance. Object-specific gesting that positional facilitation minimally requires effects are usually considered as evidence for a ‘‘late’’ that the target is presented at the relative-same location priming system, which influences processes that occur within a given visuospatial configuration. Note, though, after the selection of the target by focal attention (see, that target location priming was larger in the absolute- e.g., Olivers & Meeter, 2006, for a discussion). The same condition, indicating that at least parts of the alternative view is that priming facilitates the selection priming effects are due to location-specific, that is, of the target by focal attention (e.g., Kristja´nsson & retinotopic and/or spatiotopic, representations. Nakayama, 2003; Mu¨ller et al., 1995; To¨llner, Gra- The finding of configuration-centered facilitation was mann, Mu¨ller, Kiss, & Eimer, 2008). In recent years, a further elaborated by Geyer et al. (2010), who showed consensus has emerged that priming can aid processes that distractor locations, too, are represented in of response selection and target selection, too (Lamy et positional vSTM within an object-centered reference al., 2010; To¨llner, Gramann, Mu¨ller, Kiss, & Eimer, frame. The critical manipulation was the number of 2008; To¨llner et al., 2012; Yashar & Lamy, 2011). distractors on a given trial: In the majority of trials (91%), observers were presented with search displays that contained three-item, equilateral-triangle configu- Positional priming of pop-out rations. However, in the remaining 9% of the trials, the search displays contained only two items: one target and In Maljkovic and Nakayama’s study (1996), the one distractor (the color of the target was fixed in this search displays contained three diamond-shaped items experiment). Thus, on trials following a two-item (one target, two distractors) presented in a virtual display, the target could appear either on a previously (equilateral) triangle arrangement. The target was a color visible or empty distractor location within the triangle singleton: It was either red amongst green distractors or frame, the latter being a location where observers would green amongst red distractors. All stimuli had a notch on have expected a distractor in the majority of trials. The either the right or the left side. Observers’ task was to result was that of inhibitory priming arising from empty respond to the orientation (side) of the target notch. distractor locations (note that the inhibition effect was Maljkovic and Nakayama (1996) analyzed RTs as a comparable between conditions of occupied and empty function of the target location on the current trial relative distractor locations). The finding of inhibition arising to the previous trial(s). There were three basic intertrial from empty distractor locations led Geyer et al. (2010; transitions (amongst others). The current target (trial n) see also Geyer, Gokce, & Mu¨ller, 2011) to propose that could appear
Load more

Recommended publications
  • University of Groningen the Long and the Short of Priming in Visual Search
    University of Groningen The long and the short of priming in visual search Kruijne, Wouter; Meeter, Martijn Published in: Attention, Perception & Psychophysics DOI: 10.3758/s13414-015-0860-2 IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2015 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Kruijne, W., & Meeter, M. (2015). The long and the short of priming in visual search. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 77(5), 1558-1573. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-015-0860-2 Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license. More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne- amendment. Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.
    [Show full text]
  • Acta Psychologica 137 (2011) 138–150
    Acta Psychologica 137 (2011) 138–150 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Acta Psychologica journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/ locate/actpsy Looking, language, and memory: Bridging research from the visual world and visual search paradigms Falk Huettig a,b,⁎, Christian N.L. Olivers c, Robert J. Hartsuiker d a Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands b Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands c VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands d Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium article info abstract Article history: In the visual world paradigm as used in psycholinguistics, eye gaze (i.e. visual orienting) is measured in order Received 3 March 2010 to draw conclusions about linguistic processing. However, current theories are underspecified with respect Received in revised form 22 July 2010 to how visual attention is guided on the basis of linguistic representations. In the visual search paradigm as Accepted 23 July 2010 used within the area of visual attention research, investigators have become more and more interested in Available online 3 September 2010 how visual orienting is affected by higher order representations, such as those involved in memory and language. Within this area more specific models of orienting on the basis of visual information exist, but they PsycINFO classification: 2323 need to be extended with mechanisms that allow for language-mediated orienting. In the present paper we 2326 review the evidence from these two different – but highly related – research areas. We arrive at a model in 2340 which working memory serves as the nexus in which long-term visual as well as linguistic representations 2346 (i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Carly J. Leonard Curriculum Vitae
    Carly J. Leonard curriculum vitae Department of Psychology Email: [email protected] University of Colorado, Denver Office: 5005G North Classroom Campus Box 173, PO Box 173364 Phone: (303) 315-7068 Denver, CO 80217 Fax: (303) 315-7072 Education 2003 - 2008 Johns Hopkins University Psychological and Brain Sciences M.A., 2005; Ph.D., 2008 Advisor: Dr. Howard Egeth 1998 - 2002 Rutgers University (Rutgers College) summa cum laude: B.A. in Psychology; B.A. in Economics Minor in Cognitive Science Advisor: Dr. Zenon Pylyshyn Positions Held 2016 - Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Denver 2014 - 2016 Project Scientist, University of California, Davis 2008 - 2014 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Davis Training with Dr. Steven Luck and Dr. James Gold of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine 2003 - 2008 Graduate Research Fellow, Johns Hopkins University Graduate Teaching Assistant, Johns Hopkins University 2002 - 2003 Research Assistant, Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science 2000 - 2002 Undergraduate Research Assistant, Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science Professional Affiliations American Psychological Association, Member Cognitive Neuroscience Society, Member Psychonomic Society, Fellow (Full member) Vision Sciences Society, Member Publications Hahn, B., Robinson, B. M., Leonard, C. J., Luck, S. J., & Gold, J. M. (in press). Posterior parietal cortex dysfunction is central to working memory storage and broad cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Journal of Neuroscience. Lee, J., Leonard, C. J., Luck, S. J., & Geng, J. J. (in press). Dynamics of feature-based attentional selection during color-shape conjunction search. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. Bansal, S., Robinson, B. M., Geng, J. J., Leonard, C. J., Hahn, B., Luck, S.
    [Show full text]
  • Abstracts (PDF)
    Abstracts of the Psychonomic Society — Volume 12 — November 2007 48th Annual Meeting — November 15–18, 2007 — Long Beach, California Papers 1–7 Friday Morning Implicit Memory is a widely used experimental procedure that has been modeled in Regency ABC, Friday Morning, 8:00–9:20 order to obtain ostensibly separate measures for explicit memory and implicit memory. Existing models are critiqued here and a new con- Chaired by Neil W. Mulligan fidence process-dissociation (CPD) model is developed for a modi- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill fied process-dissociation task that uses confidence ratings in con- junction with the usual old/new recognition response. With the new 8:00–8:15 (1) model there are several direct tests for the key assumptions of the stan- Attention and Auditory Implicit Memory. NEIL W. MULLIGAN, dard models for this task. Experimental results are reported here that University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill—Traditional theorizing are contrary to the critical assumptions of the earlier models for the stresses the importance of attentional state during encoding for later process-dissociation task. These results cast doubt on the suitability memory, based primarily on research with explicit memory. Recent re- of the process-dissociation procedure itself for obtaining separate search has investigated the role of attention in implicit memory in the measures for implicit and explicit memory. visual modality. The present experiments examined the effect of divided attention on auditory implicit memory, using auditory perceptual iden- Attentional Selection and Priming tification, word-stem completion, and word-fragment completion. Par- Regency DEFH, Friday Morning, 8:00–10:00 ticipants heard study words under full attention conditions or while si- multaneously carrying out a distractor task.
    [Show full text]
  • A Psychophysical Approach to Test: “The Bignetti Model”
    PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES ISSN 2380-727X http://dx.doi.org/10.17140/PCSOJ-3-121 Open Journal Research A Psychophysical Approach to Test: “The *Corresponding author Bignetti Model” Enrico Bignetti, MD Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department of Veterinary Sciences Enrico Bignetti, MD1*; Francesca Martuzzi, MD2; Angelo Tartabini, MD3 University of Parma Via del Taglio 10 Parma 43126, Italy 1Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio 10, Parma 43126, Tel. +39 0521 032710 Italy [email protected]; E-mail: 2Department of Food Science, University of Parma, Via del Taglio 10, Parma 43126, Italy [email protected] 3Department of Neurosciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio 10, Parma 43126, Italy Volume 3 : Issue 1 Article Ref. #: 1000PCSOJ3121 ABSTRACT The cognitive “Bignetti Model” (TBM) thoroughly discussed elsewhere, shares a strong anal- Article History ogy with “Learning Through Experience” (LTE) and Bayesian Learning Process (BLP). Here, Received: December 24th, 2016 TBM’s theory is challenged by means of a psychophysical press/no-press decision task (DT). Accepted: February 2nd, 2017 Participants must press a computer key in response to sweet food image (SWEET) or refrain Published: February 3rd, 2017 from doing it with a salted food image (SALTED) (24 trials each, mixed at random in a 48-trial DT). Reaction times (RT) plotted as a function of trials decrease exponentially according to a Citation well-known “intertrial priming” effect. When 1 SWEET is repeated 24 times per DT, RTs tend Bignetti E, Martuzzi F, Tartabini A. to a minimal value that corresponds to the fastest, instinctive RT the participant can exhibit A psychophysical approach to test: when engaged in a traffic light-based task.
    [Show full text]
  • Teap 2018 Abstracts
    60. TeaP 2018 Abstracts of the 60h Conference of Experimental Psychologists Edited by Alexander C. Schütz, Anna Schubö, Dominik Endres, Harald Lachnit March, 11th to 14th Marburg, Germany This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in other ways, and storage in data banks. The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The authors and the publisher of this volume have taken care that the information and recommendations contained herein are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. Nevertheless, it is difficult to ensure that all the information given is entirely accurate for all circumstances. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss, or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this volume. © 2018 Pabst Science Publishers, 49525 Lengerich, Germany Printing: KM-Druck, 64823 Groß-Umstadt, Germany Contents Keynote lectures __________________________________________________________ 5 Contributions ___________________________________________________________ 11 Author index ___________________________________________________________ 307 Keynote lectures 5 Keynote lectures Control of Attention in Natural Environments Mary Hayhoe Center for Perceptual Systems, The University of Texas at Austin [email protected] In the context of natural behavior, humans must allocate attention and select information from the visual scene to satisfy behavioral goals.
    [Show full text]
  • Visual Consciousness and Intertrial Feature Priming
    Journal of Vision (2013) 13(5):1, 1–12 http://www.journalofvision.org/content/13/5/1 1 Visual consciousness and intertrial feature priming Ziv Peremen Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel $ Rinat Hilo Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel $ Dominique Lamy Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel $ Intertrial repetition priming plays a striking role in visual Kristjansson´ & Campana, 2010 for reviews). In order search. For instance, when searching for a target with a to elucidate the mechanisms underlying implicit mem- unique color, performance is substantially better when ory effects on attentional selection, such research has the specific color of the target repeats on successive typically relied on visual search experiments that probe trials (Maljkovic & Nakayama, 1994). Recent research various intertrial repetition effects (e.g., dimension has relied on objective measures of performance to priming, Found & Muller,¨ 1996; feature and location show that priming improves the perceptual quality of priming of pop-out, Maljkovic & Nakayama, 1994, the repeated target. Here, we examined the relation 1996; contextual cueing, Chun & Jiang, 1998; singleton between priming and conscious perception of the target priming, Lamy, Bar-Anan, Egeth, & Carmel, 2006; by adding a subjective measure of perception. We used Lamy, Bar-Anan, & Egeth, 2008; temporal position backward masking to create liminal perception, that is, priming, Yashar & Lamy, 2013). different levels of subjectively conscious perception of the target using exactly the same stimulus conditions. Feature priming has been the most extensively The displays in either probe trials (in which priming investigated phenomenon among these implicit memo- benefits are measured, Experiment 1) or in prime trials ry effects on visual search performance.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyright 2013 Jeewon Ahn
    Copyright 2013 JeeWon Ahn THE CONTRIBUTION OF VISUAL WORKING MEMORY TO PRIMING OF POP-OUT BY JEEWON AHN DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Alejandro Lleras, Chair Professor John E. Hummel Professor Arthur F. Kramer Professor Daniel J. Simons Associate Professor Diane M. Beck ABSTRACT Priming of pop-out (PoP) refers to the facilitation in performance that occurs when a target- defining feature is repeated across consecutive trials in a pop-out singleton search task. While the underlying mechanism of PoP has been at the center of debate, a recent finding (Lee, Mozer, & Vecera, 2009) has suggested that PoP relies on the change of feature gain modulation, essentially eliminating the role of memory representation as an explanation for the underlying mechanism of PoP. The current study aimed to test this proposition to determine whether PoP is truly independent of guidance based on visual working memory (VWM) by adopting a dual-task paradigm composed of a variety of both pop-out search and VWM tasks. First, Experiment 1 tested whether the type of information represented in VWM mattered in the interaction between PoP and the VWM task. Experiment 1A aimed to replicate the previous finding, adopting a design almost identical to that of Lee et al., including a VWM task to memorize non-spatial features. Experiment 1B tested a different type of VWM task involving remembering spatial locations instead of non-spatial colors.
    [Show full text]
  • Is Goal-Directed Attentional Guidance Just Intertrial Priming? a Review Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Dominique F
    Journal of Vision (2013) 13(3):14, 1–19 http://www.journalofvision.org/content/13/3/14 1 Is goal-directed attentional guidance just intertrial priming? A review Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Dominique F. Lamy Tel Aviv, Israel $ Arni´ Kristja´nsson University of Iceland, Reykjav´ık, Iceland $ According to most models of selective visual attention, Stimulus-driven and goal-directed guidance of our goals at any given moment and saliency in the visual attention field determine attentional priority. But selection is not carried out in isolation—we typically track objects According to most models of attention, both through space and time. This is not well captured within stimulus-driven and goal-directed factors influence the distinction between goal-directed and saliency-based selection in a visual scene (e.g., Bundesen, 1990, 1998; attentional guidance. Recent studies have shown that Desimone & Duncan, 1995; Itti & Koch, 2000; Koch & selection is strongly facilitated when the characteristics Ullman, 1985; Treisman & Sato, 1990; Wolfe, 2007). of the objects to be attended and of those to be ignored Stimulus-driven signals depend on how different an remain constant between consecutive selections. These object is from its neighbors. Goal-directed signals studies have generated the proposal that goal-directed depend on the degree of match between an object and or top-down effects are best understood as intertrial the set of target properties specified by task demands. priming effects. Here, we provide a detailed overview According to the guided search model (e.g., Cave & and critical appraisal of the arguments, experimental Wolfe, 1990; Wolfe, 1994, 2007), the overall level of strategies, and findings that have been used to promote attentional priority of an item is the sum of its stimulus- this idea, along with a review of studies providing driven (bottom-up) and goal-directed (top-down) potential counterarguments.
    [Show full text]
  • Duke University Dissertation Template
    Memory-Based Attentional Guidance: A Window to the Relationship between Working Memory and Attention by Emma Wu Dowd Department of Psychology & Neuroscience Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Tobias Egner, Supervisor ___________________________ Stephen R. Mitroff ___________________________ Scott A. Huettel ___________________________ Michael L. Platt Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Duke University i 2016 v ABSTRACT Memory-Based Attentional Guidance: A Window to the Relationship between Working Memory and Attention by Emma Wu Dowd Department of Psychology & Neuroscience Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Tobias Egner, Supervisor ___________________________ Stephen R. Mitroff ___________________________ Scott A. Huettel ___________________________ Michael L. Platt An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Duke University i 2016 v Copyright by Emma Wu Dowd 2016 Abstract Attention, the cognitive means by which we prioritize the processing of a subset of information, is necessary for operating efficiently and effectively in the world. Thus, a critical theoretical question is how information is selected. In the visual domain, working memory (WM)—which refers to the short-term maintenance and manipulation of information that is no longer accessible by the senses—has been highlighted as an important determinant of what is selected by visual attention. Furthermore, although WM and attention have traditionally been conceived as separate cognitive constructs, an abundance of behavioral and neural evidence indicates that these two domains are in fact intertwined and overlapping.
    [Show full text]
  • Attention and Action Processes Weiner Vol-4 C10.Tex V1 - 05/18/2012 9:10Pm Page 266 Weiner Vol-4 C10.Tex V1 - 05/18/2012 9:10Pm Page 267
    Weiner Vol-4 c10.tex V1 - 05/18/2012 9:10pm Page 265 PART IV Attention and Action Processes Weiner Vol-4 c10.tex V1 - 05/18/2012 9:10pm Page 266 Weiner Vol-4 c10.tex V1 - 05/18/2012 9:10pm Page 267 CHAPTER 10 Selective Attention DOMINIQUE LAMY, ANDREW B. LEBER, AND HOWARD E. EGETH EARLY VERSUS LATE SELECTION 268 ATTENTION AND CONSCIOUSNESS 284 SOURCES OF ATTENTIONAL CONTROL 274 CONCLUSIONS 290 ATTENTION AND WORKING MEMORY 281 REFERENCES 290 A basic characteristic of human perception is its selective- goal-directed factors (e.g., Bundesen, 2005; Treisman & ness. At any given moment, we perceive only a fraction Sato, 1990; Wolfe, 2007). For instance, according to the of the myriad of stimuli reaching our sense organs. For biased competition model (e.g, Desimone & Duncan, example, while reading these lines, you ignore the pressure 1995) object representations compete for neural represen- of the chair on your thighs and the humming of the refrig- tation in our brains. Items that are highly salient enjoy a erator. In the words of Garner (1974, p.23), “the human competitive advantage relative to low-salience items, but organism exists in an environment containing many dif- the goals of the observer bias this competitive process, ferent sources of information. It is patently impossible for thereby ensuring that low-salience objects that are highly the organism to process all these sources, because it has relevant to the task at hand are also represented across the a limited information capacity, and the amount of infor- visual hierarchy. However, claims that attention selection mation available is always much greater than the limited might be guided exclusively by how salient an object is, capacity.” We experience these limitations on our process- irrespective of the observers’ intentions or, alternatively, ing capacity every day.
    [Show full text]
  • Inter-Trial Priming Does Not Affect Attentional Priority in Asymmetric Visual Search
    ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 29 August 2014 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00957 Inter-trial priming does not affect attentional priority in asymmetric visual search Liana Amunts , Amit Yashar and Dominique Lamy* The School of Psychology Sciences and The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Edited by: Visual search is considerably speeded when the target’s characteristics remain constant Hermann Josef Mueller, University across successive selections. Here, we investigated whether such inter-trial priming of Munich, Germany increases the target’s attentional priority, by examining whether target repetition reduces Reviewed by: search efficiency during serial search. As the study of inter-trial priming requires the target Árni Kristjánsson, University of Iceland, Iceland and distractors to exchange roles unpredictably, it has mostly been confined to singleton Martijn Meeter, Vrije University, searches, which typically yield efficient search. We therefore resorted to two singleton Netherlands searches known to yield relatively inefficient performance, that is, searches in which the *Correspondence: target does not pop out. Participants searched for a veridical angry face among neutral Dominique Lamy, The School of ones or vice-versa, either upright or inverted (Experiment 1) or for a Q among Os or Psychology Sciences and The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv vice-versa (Experiment 2). In both experiments, we found substantial intertrial priming University, Ramat Aviv, PO Box that did not improve search efficiency. In addition, intertrial priming was asymmetric and 39040, Tel Aviv 69978 ISRAEL occurred only when the more salient target repeated. We conclude that intertrial priming e-mail: [email protected] does not modulate attentional priority allocation and that it occurs in asymmetric search only when the target is characterized by an additional feature that is consciously perceived.
    [Show full text]