Target objects defined by a conjunction of colour and shape can be selected independently and in parallel

Jenkins, Michael; Grubert, Anna; Eimer, Martin

doi:10.3758/s13414-017-1410-x

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…demonstrate that multiple colour-guided attentional target selection processes can be triggered concurrently, with each selection process following its own independent time course. Further studies obtained analogous findings when both target-colour objects appeared simultaneously in a single display , when targets were defined by their shape (Jenkins, Grubert, & Eimer, 2016, Exp.1), and also when they were defined by a colour/shape conjunction (Jenkins, Grubert, & Eimer, 2017).…”

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confidence: 74%

Category-based attentional guidance can operate in parallel for multiple target objects

Jenkins

Grubert

Eimer

2018

Biological Psychology

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The question whether the control of attention during visual search is always feature-based or can also be based on the category of objects remains unresolved. Here, we employed the N2pc component as an on-line marker for target selection processes to compare the efficiency of feature-based and category-based attentional guidance. Two successive displays containing pairs of real-world objects (line drawings of kitchen or clothing items) were separated by a 10 ms SOA. In Experiment 1, target objects were defined by their category. In Experiment 2, one specific visual object served as target (exemplar-based search). On different trials, targets appeared either in one or in both displays, and participants had to report the number of targets (one or two). Target N2pc components were larger and emerged earlier during exemplar-based search than during category-based search, demonstrating the superior efficiency of feature-based attentional guidance. On trials where target objects appeared in both displays, both targets elicited N2pc components that overlapped in time, suggesting that attention was allocated in parallel to these target objects. Critically, this was the case not only in the exemplar-based task, but also when targets were defined by their category. These results demonstrate that attention can be guided by object categories, and that this type of category-based attentional control can operate concurrently for multiple target objects.

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confidence: 74%

Category-based attentional guidance can operate in parallel for multiple target objects

Jenkins

Grubert

Eimer

2018

Biological Psychology

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“…Finally, the question of memory capacity or interference is also important when considering that current limitations were found when both target features were drawn from the same dimension (color). There is evidence that different dimensions may to some extent independently store (e.g., Wang et al, 2017), or guide attention towards (Wolfe, 1994; Jenkins et al, 2017), target features. Our methods may therefore prove useful in assessing the exact limitations of selecting targets defined along different dimensions.…”

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confidence: 99%

Humans can efficiently look for but not select multiple visual objects

Ort

Fahrenfort

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et al. 2019

eLife

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The human brain recurrently prioritizes task-relevant over task-irrelevant visual information. A central question is whether multiple objects can be prioritized simultaneously. To answer this, we let observers search for two colored targets among distractors. Crucially, we independently varied the number of target colors that observers anticipated, and the number of target colors actually used to distinguish the targets in the display. This enabled us to dissociate the preparation of selection mechanisms from the actual engagement of such mechanisms. Multivariate classification of electroencephalographic activity allowed us to track selection of each target separately across time. The results revealed only small neural and behavioral costs associated with preparing for selecting two objects, but substantial costs when engaging in selection. Further analyses suggest this cost is the consequence of neural competition resulting in limited parallel processing, rather than a serial bottleneck. The findings bridge diverging theoretical perspectives on capacity limitations of feature-based attention.

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“…There is evidence that different dimensions may to some extent independently store (e.g., ref. 55), or guide attention towards (56,57), target features. Our methods may therefore prove useful in assessing the exact limitations of selecting targets defined along different dimensions.…”

Section: Running Title: Competition In Multiple Target Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humans can efficiently look for but not select multiple visual objects

Ort

Fahrenfort

Cate

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Human observers have the remarkable ability to efficiently prioritize task-relevant over taskirrelevant visual information. Yet, a fundamental question remains whether this ability is limited to a single task relevant item, or whether multiple items can be prioritized simultaneously. The answer to this question depends on 1) whether observers can concurrently prepare and maintain multiple top-down templates for more than one target object, and 2) whether those templates can then, in parallel, bias selection towards more than one target in the visual input. Here we disentangle these two processes for the first time.We measured electroencephalographic (EEG) responses while observers searched for two color-defined targets among distractors. Crucially, we not only varied the number of target colors that observers anticipated (thus determining the number of target templates), but also the number of colors used to distinguish the two target objects present in the search display (thus determining the number of templates required to engage in actual selection).Multivariate classification of the EEG pattern allowed us to track the attentional enhancement of each target separately across time. Both behavioral and electrophysiological results revealed only a small cost associated with preparing two versus one color template. In contrast, substantial costs arose when two templates had to be engaged in the actual selection of search targets. Furthermore, the results indicate that this cost is based on limitations of parallel processing, rather than a serial bottleneck. These findings bridge currently diverging theoretical perspectives on capacity limitations of feature-based attention.

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Target objects defined by a conjunction of colour and shape can be selected independently and in parallel

Cited by 12 publications

References 48 publications

Category-based attentional guidance can operate in parallel for multiple target objects

Category-based attentional guidance can operate in parallel for multiple target objects

Humans can efficiently look for but not select multiple visual objects

Humans can efficiently look for but not select multiple visual objects

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