Attentional capture under high perceptual load

Attentional capture by abrupt onsets can be modulated by several factors, including the complexity, or perceptual load, of a scene. We have recently demonstrated that observers are less likely to be captured by abruptly appearing, task-irrelevant stimuli when they perform a search that is high, as o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychonomic bulletin & review 2010-12, Vol.17 (6), p.815-820
Main Authors: Cosman, Joshua D., Vecera, Shaun P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activity levels. Psychomotricity
Attention
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Brief Report
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive Psychology
Cues
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Perception
Photic Stimulation
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reaction Time
Vigilance. Attention. Sleep
Vision
Visual Perception
Visual task performance
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Summary:Attentional capture by abrupt onsets can be modulated by several factors, including the complexity, or perceptual load, of a scene. We have recently demonstrated that observers are less likely to be captured by abruptly appearing, task-irrelevant stimuli when they perform a search that is high, as opposed to low, in perceptual load (Cosman & Vecera, 2009), consistent with perceptual load theory. However, recent results indicate that onset frequency can influence stimulus-driven capture, with infrequent onsets capturing attention more often than did frequent onsets. Importantly, in our previous task, an abrupt onset was present on every trial, and consequently, attentional capture might have been affected by both onset frequency and perceptual load. In the present experiment, we examined whether onset frequency influences attentional capture under conditions of high perceptual load. When onsets were presented frequently, we replicated our earlier results; attentional capture by onsets was modulated under conditions of high perceptual load. Importantly, however, when onsets were presented infrequently, we observed robust capture effects. These results conflict with a strong form of load theory and, instead, suggest that exposure to the elements of a task (e.g., abrupt onsets) combines with high perceptual load to modulate attentional capture by task-irrelevant information.
ISSN:1069-9384
1531-5320
DOI:10.3758/PBR.17.6.815