Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention

Failing, Michel; Theeuwes, Jan

doi:10.3758/s13423-017-1380-y

Cited by 297 publications

(363 citation statements)

References 245 publications

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“…Importantly, this was observed in participants Unaware of stimulus-reward contingencies. These results are in line with the postulate that reward predictive stimuli can modulate attentional processes (Failing and Theeuwes 2017) even in the absence of CA.…”

supporting

confidence: 91%

Knowledge about the predictive value of reward conditioned stimuli modulates their interference with cognitive processes

et al. 2019

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Stimuli conditioned with a substance can generate drug-approach behaviors due to their acquired motivational properties. According to implicit theories of addiction, these stimuli can decrease cognitive control automatically. The present study (n = 49) examined whether reward-associated stimuli can interfere with cognitive processes in the absence of knowledge about stimulus-outcome contingencies. Conditioned stimuli (CS) were paired with high-reward (HR) or low-reward (LR) probabilities of monetary reward using a Pavlovian learning task. Participants were categorized as Aware or Unaware of contingencies using a Bayesian analysis. CS were then used as task-irrelevant distractors in modified flanker and N-back tasks. Results show HR CS can generate increased interference in the flanker task for participants Unaware of contingencies, contributing further evidence for the existence of implicit Pavlovian conditioning. For the N-back task, working memory performance was affected by HR CS, albeit only for Aware participants. These results suggest that CS can interfere implicitly with cognitive processes in a similar way to drug-related stimuli. Such an effect could occur in a stimulus-driven fashion, devoid of top-down goal-directedness. These findings have implications for the conceptualization and study of implicit processes in addiction and highlights the necessity to reconsider the measurement of such phenomena.

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supporting

confidence: 91%

Knowledge about the predictive value of reward conditioned stimuli modulates their interference with cognitive processes

et al. 2019

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“…This finding was contrary to previous evidence that reward influenced visual perception even when the rewards were no longer delivered (Anderson, 2013; Anderson et al, 2011; Failing & Theeuwes, 2014, 2018; Pooresmaeili et al, 2014; Theeuwes & Belopolsky, 2012), even after several days (Della Libera & Chelazzi, 2009). These inconsistent findings might be due to the paradigm differences (the proactive paradigm used in the current study and the reactive paradigm used in the above studies; Braver, 2012; Failing & Theeuwes, 2018; Pessoa, 2015). It seems reasonable to speculate that the goal‐directed, top‐down modulation by reward (in the proactive paradigm) would change quickly and flexibly, whereas the automatic attention to the rewarded feature (in the “reactive” paradigm) can last for a relatively long time.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

The Bright and Dark Sides of Performance‐Dependent Monetary Rewards: Evidence From Visual Perception Tasks

Qin

Xue

Chen³

et al. 2020

Cognitive Science

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Studies have shown that performance‐dependent monetary rewards facilitate visual perception. However, no study has examined whether such a positive effect is limited to the rewarded task or may be generalized to other tasks. In the current study, two groups of people were asked to perform two visual perception tasks, one being a reward‐relevant task and the other being a reward‐irrelevant task. For the reward‐relevant task, the experimental group received performance‐dependent monetary rewards, whereas the control group did not. For the reward‐irrelevant task, both groups were not rewarded. The two tasks were randomly intermixed trial by trial (Experiment 1) or presented block by block (Experiment 2) or session by session (Experiments 3a, 3b, and 3c). Results showed that performance‐dependent monetary rewards improved participants' performance on the relevant task in all experiments and impaired their performance on the irrelevant task in Experiments 2, 3a, 3b, and 3c. These results suggested that monetary rewards might incur a cost on reward‐irrelevant tasks. Finally, the benefit of monetary rewards disappeared when they were no longer provided during the final session. This is the first study that reveals both the bright and dark sides of the performance‐dependent monetary rewards in visual perception.

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“…Despite the fact that reflexive attention can be configured by top down signals, the partial autonomy of this system is evident in the phenomenon of attentional capture, in which attention is deployed to stimuli that appear in locations of the visual field that are known to always be task-irrelevant (Remington, Johnston & Yantis 1992;Theeuwes 1992;Wyble, Folk & Potter 2013;Folk, Leber & Egeth 2002). If reflexive attention were not semi-autonomous, top down control signals would be able to ensure that stimuli presented in locations known to be irrelevant 1 There is an ongoing debate concerning the ability of top-down goal settings to mediate attentional capture (Awh, Belopolsky & Theeuwes 2012;Failing & Theeuwes 2018), with positions ranging from attention being entirely driven by Top-down factors, to the opposite extreme in which the first stage of attention is entirely driven by physical characteristics of stimuli. would have no effect on behavior.…”

Section: Behavioral Evidence For Covert Attentional Control Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding visual attention with RAGNAROC: A Reflexive Attention Gradient through Neural AttRactOr Competition

Wyble

Callahan-Flintoft

Chen

et al. 2018

Preprint

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A quintessential challenge for any perceptual system is the need to focus on task-relevant information without being blindsided by unexpected, yet important information. The human visual system incorporates several solutions to this challenge, one of which is a reflexive covert attention system that is rapidly responsive to both the physical salience and the task-relevance of new information. This paper presents a model that simulates behavioral and neural correlates of reflexive attention as the product of brief neural attractor states that are formed across the visual hierarchy when attention is engaged. Such attractors emerge from an attentional gradient distributed over a population of topographically organized neurons and serve to focus processing at one or more locations in the visual field, while inhibiting the processing of lower priority information. The model moves towards a resolution of key debates about the nature of reflexive attention, such as whether it is parallel or serial, and whether suppression effects are distributed in a spatial surround, or selectively at the location of distractors. Most importantly, the model develops a framework for understanding the neural mechanisms of visual attention as a spatiotopic decision process within a hierarchy and links them to observable correlates such as accuracy, reaction time, and the N2pc and PD components of the EEG. This last contribution is the most crucial for repairing the disconnect that exists between our understanding of behavioral and neural correlates of attention.

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Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention

Cited by 297 publications

References 245 publications

Knowledge about the predictive value of reward conditioned stimuli modulates their interference with cognitive processes

Knowledge about the predictive value of reward conditioned stimuli modulates their interference with cognitive processes

The Bright and Dark Sides of Performance‐Dependent Monetary Rewards: Evidence From Visual Perception Tasks

Understanding visual attention with RAGNAROC: A Reflexive Attention Gradient through Neural AttRactOr Competition

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