The independence of endogenous and exogenous temporal attention

Abstract

Temporal attention is the focusing of perceptual resources at a particular point in time. Valid temporal cue information has the capability to improve performance by reducing reaction times, while invalid information has the possibility of impairing performance. The performance difference between valid and invalid conditions is called a temporal cueing effect (TCE). We explored how different alerting mechanisms interact with a participant's ability to utilize temporal information cues, using the Kingstone (The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 44(1), 69-104, 1992) temporal cueing paradigm. Extracting the alerting procedure from Lawrence and Klein (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(2), 560-572, 2013), one of two different temporally contingent warning signals were presented to participants during a trial. The "hi-intensity" warning signal increases intensity and elicits both exogenous and endogenous alerting mechanisms. The "no-intensity" warning signal is isointense relative to baseline and elicits only endogenous alerting mechanisms. Two experiments conducted previously using a discrimination task showed interference between the signal intensity and task difficulty, where the "no-intensity" signal failed to elicit TCEs. In the present study, we implemented a detection task, reducing the mental effort required for a response. The results showed equal TCEs in both signal conditions. We argue for independence of these alerting mechanisms, by way of Sternberg's (Acta Psychologica, 30, 276-315, 1969) additive factor method. Arguments contrasting what mechanism is being impacted by this paradigm are further outlined.

A dynamic normalization model of temporal attention

“…TVA has been adapted to model a constant level of expectation across time 76,77 , but not attention to specific time points. Second, our model distinguishes between voluntary and involuntary attention, a distinction that is supported by the spatial attention literature 35,78,79 and has been reported for temporal attention 74,[80][81][82] . Third, in previous models 17,73 , the role of attention is to control the encoding of sensory signals into working memory.…”

On the selection of endogenous and exogenous signals

“…This suggests that exposure to these two different signal types over a block of trials affects the participant's overall mental state of responding. This tonic effect on performance could be related to the increased cognitive demand that the purely endogenous signal has been theorized to require over the intense combined signal, so blocks with these isointense signals would require additional perceptual resources for detection [12]. Future research should investigate how these different alerting types impact tonic levels of arousal, and how the isointense signal used in the endogenous condition impacts cognitive load.…”

“…Exogenous alerting is more reflexive and can be better described as a bottom-up process, as a salient, or 'intense', stimuli in the environment elicit the alerting [10]. While both forms of alerting still provide increases in arousal, they differently impact performance [11] and appear to be independent of each other [12]. Lawrence & Klein [11] developed a methodology to elicit purely endogenous and exogenous forms alerting.…”

Temporal attention selectively enhances target features

“…Recent work has begun to tease apart the effects of endogenous and exogenous (i.e. reflexive) temporal attention ( Lawrence & Klein, 2013 ), with some studies suggesting that endogenous and exogenous temporal attention have dissociable effects on perception ( McCormick, Redden, Lawrence, & Klein, 2018 ; Rohenkohl, Coull, & Nobre, 2011 ). Although we speculate that our temporal cue engaged both endogenous and exogenous temporal attention, further work is needed to test whether signal enhancement and stimulus enhancement effects are specifically linked with endogenous and exogenous orienting of temporal attention, respectively.…”