Abstract
Is object-based attention mandatory or under strategic control? In an adapted spatial cuing paradigm, participants focused initially on a central arrow cue that was part of a perceptual group (Experiment 1) or a uniformly connected object (Experiment 2), encompassing one of the potential target locations. The cue always pointed to an opposite, different-object location. By varying cue validity, the strategic incentive to prevent the spread of attention to the entire cue object, and consequently to the same-object location, was manipulated: With invalid cuing and (consequently) equal probability of targets at same-object and different-object locations, a same-object target identification advantage was observed. With highly valid cuing and targets much more probable at the different-object location than at the same-object location, the same-object advantage disappeared. Object-based attention appears to be a default mode that may be ecologically adaptive but can be overridden by strategic control when there is a strong immediate benefit in doing so.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 565-579 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2010 |
Keywords
- Default mode
- Object based versus space based
- Perceptual organization
- Strategic control
- Visual attention
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Behavioral Neuroscience