Effect of object onset on the distribution of visual attention.
There now exists considerable evidence to suggest that the appearance of a new object in the visual field captures visual attention. One of the consequences of this attentional capture is that the object initiates a redistribution of attentional resources across visual space. This is classically observed in the precuing paradigm in which the onset of an abrupt cue influences the processing of a subsequently presented target. The present research describes a new phenomenon that occurs as a result of a new object appearing in the visual field. A stimulus presented in a region of space adjacent to a corner of an onsetting object receives an enhancement of processing relative to a stimulus presented adjacent to one of the object's straight edges. With the use of 2 converging methods, evidence is presented that suggests that the effect is a higher order attentional phenomenon whereby greater resources become directed to the corners of objects.
Cole
G
G
Department of Psychology, University of Keele, Staffordshire, England. G.G.Cole@Durham.ac.uk
Gellatly
A
A
Blurton
A
A
D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D011930:Reaction Time; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*