title: Increasing distractor strength improves accuracy.
abstract: Attention enhances task-relevant signals while filtering task-irrelevant signals; however, this selection process is not perfect. It is generally assumed that the stronger the irrelevant signal, the more strongly performance is disrupted. The effect of irrelevant coherent motion signals on performance on a color-discrimination task was systematically examined. Motion direction was either congruent or incongruent with response selection. Performance was most impaired when motion signal strength was just above perceptual threshold and improved when the motion signal strength increased. These results suggest that distractors of higher strength increase attentional modulation and are filtered before they interfere with task performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Boston University, USA.
authors.forename: Summer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sheremata
authors.forename: Masamichi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakagami
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003118:Color Perception; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011601:Psychophysics; D012684:Sensory Thresholds