Goal-driven modulation of stimulus-driven attentional capture in multiple-cue displays

Abstract

Six location-cuing experiments were conducted to examine the goal-driven control of attentional capture in multiple-cue displays. In most of the experiments, the cue display consisted of the simultaneous presentation of a red direct cue that was highly predictive of the target location (the unique cue) and three gray direct cues (the standard cues) that were not predictive of the location. The results indicated that although target responses were faster at all cued locations relative to uncued locations, they were significantly faster at the unique-cue location than at the standard-cue locations. Other results suggest that the faster responses produced by direct cues may be associated with two different components: an attention-relatedcomponent that can be modulated by goal-driven factors and a nonattentional component that occurs in parallel at multiple direct-cue locations and is minimally affected by the same goal-driven factors.

Interactions between endogenous and exogenous attention during vigilance

“…However, results from recent studies have suggested that sudden-onsets that occur within 100 ms before a subsequent target (and in the same location) can enhance target performance through sensory activation or summation, rather than through exogenous attentional capture (see Richard, Wright, & Ward, 2003; Wright & Richard, 2003). In the case of a single pre-cue that occurs on its own, as in Experiments 1 and 2 of the current study, Wright and colleagues (Wright & Richard, 2003) showed that the total impact of the pre-cue on subsequent target performance is best explained as a combination of sensory activation and exogenous attentional capture.…”

Time course of allocation of spatial attention by acoustic cues in non‐human primates

“…The sequence of events that characterizes the allocation of spatial attention by a visual signal, spatial visual attention, is well understood. Shortly after attention is captured (Jonides, 1981) by a visual event in the periphery, the processing of additional stimuli is facilitated at that location and hindered elsewhere (Wright & Richard, 2000; Richard et al. , 2003).…”

Sensory mediation of stimulus-driven attentional capture in multiple-cue displays

“…Another paradigm, however, has prompted some researchers to suggest that a unitary attentional focal point can be divided into multiple foci. If two or more direct cues are presented simultaneously, cue effects can occur when targets appear at any of the cued locations (e.g., Richard, Wright, & Ward, 2003;Wright, 1994;Wright, Richard, & McDonald, 1996). It could be argued that this occurs because attention has been divided into discrete multiple foci so that it can be directed simultaneously to each cued location (see, e.g., Kramer & Hahn, 1995).…”