Attentional capture within and between objects.
The present study addressed the question whether attentional capture by abrupt onsets is affected by object-like properties of the stimulus field. Observers searched for a target circle at one of four ends of two solid rectangles. In the focused attention condition the location of the upcoming target was cued by means of a central arrowhead, whereas in the divided attention condition, the target location was not cued. Irrelevant abrupt onsets could appear either within the attended or within the non-attended object. The results showed that in the focused attention condition, onsets ceased to capture attention irrespective of whether the onset appeared within an attended object or within a non-attended object.
Mortier
Karen
K
Department of Cognitive Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands. k.mortier@psy.vu.nl
Donk
Mieke
M
Theeuwes
Jan
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003463:Cues; D005133:Eye Movements; D006801:Humans; D011930:Reaction Time; D014796:Visual Perception