A previous dual-task study (Lien, Ruthruff, Cornett, Goodin, & Allen, 2008) provided evidence that people have difficulty identifying words while central attention is devoted to another non-word task. In that study, participants performed an auditory Task 1 regarding tone pitch and a visual word Task 2. However, it’s possible that...
Some studies suggest that attention can be captured by irrelevant, salient objects when they appear rarely. We addressed this issue using the N2pc effect, a lateralized, negative voltage spike in the brain potentials in parietal cortex, thought to reflect attentional allocation. A cue display was followed by a target display...
Theeuwes (2004) proposed that stimulus-driven capture occurs primarily for salient stimuli that fall within the observer's attentional window, such as when performing a parallel search. This proposal, supported by some studies, can explain many seemingly discrepant results in the literature. The present study tested this proposal using a modified pre-cuing...
The present study, using a cuing paradigm, reexamined the claim of an attentional bias toward fearful faces. In Experiment 1, participants searched a target display for a letter in a specific color. This target display was preceded by a non-informative cue display, which contained colored boxes (one in the target...
The present study examined the effect of training on age differences in performing a highly
practiced task using the psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm (Pashler, 1984). Earlier
training studies have concentrated on tasks that are not already overlearned. The present
question of interest is whether task dual-task integration will be...
Several behavioral studies have suggested that rarity is critical for enabling irrelevant, salient
objects to capture attention. We tested this hypothesis using the N2pc, thought to reflect
attentional allocation. A cue display was followed by a target display in which participants
identified the letter in a specific color. Experiment 1...
Whereas capture experiments typically repeat a single task many times, real world cognition is
characterized by frequent switching. Lien, Ruthruff, and Johnston (2010) reported that the
attentional control system can rapidly and fully switch between different search settings (e.g., red
to green), with no carryover and no inter-trial priming. The...
OBJECTIVE: In this study, we examined how effectively
people can monitor new stimuli on a peripheral display
while carrying out judgments on an adjacent central display.
BACKGROUND: Improved situation awareness is critical
for improved operator performance in aviation and many
other domains. Given the limited extent of foveal processing,
acquiring...
Some studies suggest that attention can be captured by irrelevant, salient objects when they appear rarely. We addressed this issue using the N2pc effect, a lateralized, negative voltage spike in the brain potentials in parietal cortex, thought to reflect attentional allocation. A cue display was followed by a target display...
Some studies suggest that attention can be captured by irrelevant, salient objects when they appear rarely. We addressed this issue using the N2pc effect, a lateralized, negative voltage spike in the brain potentials in parietal cortex, thought to reflect attentional allocation. A cue display was followed by a target display...