Attention capture is modulated in dual-task situations.
Because some features affect the efficiency of visual search even when they are irrelevant to the task, they are thought to capture attention in a stimulus-driven manner. If such attention shifts are stimulus driven, they should be unaffected by reduced resources. We added a concurrent auditory task to a traditional attention capture paradigm and found that capture by an irrelevant, abruptly appearing stimulus (i.e., an onset) was eliminated. In contrast, prioritization of an irrelevant color singleton--a stimulus that at most receives only mild prioritization in this paradigm--was increased under dual-task conditions. These results challenge the hypothesis that attention capture by irrelevant features is stimulus driven. Instead, prioritization depends on and is modulated by the availability of resources.
Boot
Walter R
WR
Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 N. Mathews, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. wboot@cyrus.psych.uiuc.edu
Brockmole
James R
JR
Simons
Daniel J
DJ
D001288:Attention; D003118:Color Perception; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D006801:Humans; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011601:Psychophysics; D011930:Reaction Time; D013067:Speech Perception