Another Dimension! Using Dimension Weighting to Observe Integration and Retrieval in Localization Performance

• Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance 2024-01, Vol.50 (1), p.23-38
• Main Authors: Schöpper, Lars-Michael, Hoffmann, Ronja, Frings, Christian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Action control; Attention; Distraction; Female; Human; Localization; Male; Orienting Responses; Perceptual Localization; Receptive field; Repetition; Retrieval; Stimulus; Theories; Visual perception; Visual Search; Weighting
• ISSN: 0096-1523; 1939-1277
• DOI: 10.1037/xhp0001176

According to action control theories, responding to a stimulus leads to the integration of response and stimulus features (e.g., color, shape, etc.) into event files. Upon feature repetition, the event file is retrieved, affecting performance. However, the resulting so-called binding effects are typically absent when participants localize targets in a sequence. Here, only a location change benefit emerges, known as inhibition of return (IOR), unmodulated by feature repetitions and changes. This has often been replicated in attentional orienting research. However, in these experimental designs only the individual stimulus feature is systematically varied to repeat or change. Based on the dimension weighting account from visual search, we hypothesized that the lack of binding effects in localization performance is due to a lack of systematically varying feature dimensions. In three experiments, participants localized targets in the left or right hemifield. The target appeared at multiple possible locations with gray distractors (Experiment 1), at multiple possible locations without distractors (Experiment 2), and at two possible locations without distractors (Experiment 3). Crucially, the nonspatial identity of the target repeated its dimension with or without the individual feature, or it changed its dimension. Whereas a binding effect between response and feature was absent, we found a binding pattern between response and feature dimension. IOR was always present. The results fit well with theories of different research strands-action control, attentional orienting, and visual search-suggesting that these gain impact by incorporating each other's ideas, leading to an all-encompassing understanding of selection and action. Public Significance Statement According to action control theories, humans act by processes of feature integration and retrieval, measured in so-called binding effects. Yet, so far, for most localization tasks, this seems to be not the case with only few exceptions. By referring to the dimension weighting account in visual search, we can show that binding effects occur in localization tasks if nonspatial feature repetitions and changes are defined by feature dimensions-and not by individual features. By merging research fields of action control, attentional orienting, and visual search, the current results lead to a better understanding of the preconditions for feature integration and retrieval.