Increasing distractor strength improves accuracy

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.     

Learning grammatical categories from distributional cues: Flexible frames for language acquisition

Performance in a behavioral task can be facilitated by associating stimulus properties with reward. In contrast, conflicting information is known to impede task performance. Here we investigated how reward associations influence the within-trial processing of conflicting information using a color-naming Stroop task in which a subset of ink colors (task-relevant dimension) was associated with monetary incentives. We found that color-naming performance was enhanced on trials with potential-reward versus those without. Moreover, in potential-reward trials, typical conflict-induced performance decrements were attenuated if the incongruent word (task-irrelevant dimension) was unrelated to reward. In contrast, incongruent words that were semantically related to reward-predicting ink colors interfered with performance in potential-reward trials and even more so in no-reward trials, despite the semantic meaning being entirely task-irrelevant. These observations imply that the prospect of reward enhances the processing of task-relevant stimulus information, whereas incongruent reward-related information in a task-irrelevant dimension can impede task performance.     

Item-specific congruency effects in nonverbal auditory Stroop

In the current study, participants judged as 'low' or 'high' either the location or the frequency of a single tone presented in one of two locations at one of two frequencies. The classification associated with the irrelevant feature could be either congruent or incongruent with the required response. The results of Experiment 1 revealed that responses were made more slowly on incongruent than on congruent trials, regardless of whether participants judged sounds according to their location or their pitch. In Experiment 2, we manipulated the probability that the classification associated with the irrelevant acoustic feature was consistent with the classification associated with the task-relevant dimension. In this experiment responses were made more quickly on congruent trials when the response associated with the irrelevant feature was likely to be consistent with the required response, and on incongruent trials when the response associated with the irrelevant feature was likely to be inconsistent with the required response.     

Visualizing the temporal dynamics of spatial information processing responsible for the Simon effect and its amplification by inhibition of return

Research has shown that the Simon effect is larger for targets suffering from inhibition of return (IOR). We used speed–accuracy trade-off (SAT) methodology to explore the temporal dynamics underlying this interaction. In Experiment 1, a new method for sorting the data was used to reveal a monotonic decay in the impact of task-irrelevant location information that is responsible for the Simon effect. In Experiment 2, we show that IOR delays both task-relevant identity and task-irrelevant location codes; a relatively longer delay for location than identity codes accounts for the effect of IOR on the Simon effect. When location information was made task-relevant in Experiment 3, IOR delayed the accumulation of this information by about the same amount as when location was irrelevant. The results suggest that IOR, therefore, has a greater effect on location than identity information.     

Cognitive conflict and inhibition in primed dichotic listening

In previous behavioral studies, a prime syllable was presented just prior to a dichotic syllable pair, with instructions to ignore the prime and report one syllable from the dichotic pair. When the prime matched one of the syllables in the dichotic pair, response selection was biased towards selecting the unprimed target. The suggested mechanism was that the prime was inhibited to reduce conflict between task-irrelevant prime processing and task-relevant dichotic target processing, and a residual effect of the prime inhibition biased the resolution of the conflict between the two targets. The current experiment repeated the primed dichotic listening task in an event-related fMRI setting. The fMRI data showed that when the task-irrelevant prime matched the task-relevant targets, activations in posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) and in right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) increased, which was considered to represent conflict and inhibition, respectively. Further, matching trials where the unprimed target was selected showed activation in right IFG, while matching trials where the primed target was selected showed activations in pMFC and left IFG, indicating the difference between inhibition-biased selection and unbiased selection.     

知觉负载影响注意选择和冲突解决的系列效应

研究考察了无关侧抑制项引起的侧抑制效应如何受到当前试次知觉负载和先前试次知觉负载与目标?侧抑制项关系的交互影响。被试在视觉搜索集中搜索目标朝向刺激(水平或竖直朝向)并作辨别反应, 非目标项在低负载条件下彼此朝向一致, 在高负载条件下彼此朝向不一致。在搜索集的左侧或右侧存在一个与当前目标一致或不一致的无关侧抑制项(flanker)。结果发现, 整体上, 在当前试次低负载条件下会产生较大的干扰效应, 而在当前试次高负载下无干扰效应。此外, 先前试次(trial n-1)为高负载条件时, 当前试次(trial n)出现了典型的知觉负载效应, 即低负载条件干扰效应较大, 高负载条件无干扰效应。但是, 先前试次为低负载条件时, 当前试次的干扰效应大小受到先前试次冲突解决状态的影响。先前试次为低负载条件且目标?无关侧抑制项不一致时, 下一试次低负载条件的侧抑制效应显著减小, 与高负载条件没有差异; 反之, 先前试次为低负载且目标?侧抑制项一致条件时, 下一试次低负载条件的侧抑制效应显著增大。先前试次为低负载条件时, 完成了知觉加工的侧抑制项或者引发了冲突效应(不一致条件), 或者促进了对目标的反应(一致条件), 造成不同的注意选择和冲突解决状态, 显著影响了下一试次的行为表现。这说明, 注意选择与冲突控制过程是动态变化的, 除了受到当前试次知觉负载的影响, 也受到先前试次注意选择和冲突解决状态的调节。     

Working memory capacity predicts conflict-task performance

The relationship between the ability to maintain task goals and working memory capacity (WMC) is firmly established, but evidence for WMC-related differences in conflict processing is mixed. We investigated whether WMC (measured using two complex-span tasks) mediates differences in adjustments of cognitive control in response to conflict. Participants performed a Simon task in which congruent and incongruent trials were equiprobable, but in which the proportion of congruency repetitions (congruent trials followed by congruent trials or incongruent trials followed by incongruent trials) and thus the need for trial-by-trial adjustments in cognitive control varied by block. The overall Simon effect did not depend on WMC capacity. However, for the low-WMC participants the Simon effect decreased as the proportion of congruency repetitions decreased, whereas for the high- and average-WMC participants it was relatively constant across conditions. Distribution analysis of the Simon effect showed more evidence for the inhibition of stimulus location in the low- than in the high-WMC participants, especially when the proportion of congruency repetitions was low. We hypothesize that low-WMC individuals exhibit more interference from task-irrelevant information due to weaker preparatory control prior to stimulus presentation and, thus, stronger reliance on reactive recruitment of cognitive control.     

Object-based attention overrides perceptual load to modulate visual distraction

The ability to ignore task-irrelevant information and overcome distraction is central to our ability to efficiently carry out a number of tasks. One factor shown to strongly influence distraction is the perceptual load of the task being performed; as the perceptual load of task-relevant information processing increases, the likelihood that task-irrelevant information will be processed and interfere with task performance decreases. However, it has also been demonstrated that other attentional factors play an important role in whether or not distracting information affects performance. Specifically, object-based attention can modulate the extent of distractor processing, leaving open the possibility that object-based attention mechanisms may directly modulate the way in which perceptual load affects distractor processing. Here, we show that object-based attention dominates perceptual load to determine the extent of task-irrelevant information processing, with distractors affecting performance only when they are contained within the same object as the task-relevant search display. These results suggest that object-based attention effects play a central role in selective attention regardless of the perceptual load of the task being performed.     

The dynamic nature of the stress appraisal process and the infusion of affect

Very little is known about the process in which people reappraise a stressful environment or the factors that may influence this process. In the current study, we address the several limitations to previous research regarding stress reappraisals and explore the role of affect on this process. A total of 320 participants (mean age = 20 years, 60% male) completed an increasingly demanding team-based coordination task. Mood and stress appraisals were assessed at three time points using self-report surveys during four different waves of data collection. The longitudinal design enabled us to assess primary and secondary reappraisals (change in appraisals during the experiment), task-irrelevant affect (affect assessed prior to experiment participation), and task-relevant affect (change in affect experienced during the experiment). Guided by the Transactional Theory of Stress, we argue that the relationship between primary reappraisal and secondary reappraisal is an accurate representation of a dynamic stress appraisal process. We found that participants were more likely to engage in the stress appraisal process when they experienced less task-irrelevant positive affect and greater task-relevant positive affect. Both task-irrelevant and task-relevant negative affect were not found to influence the stress appraisal process.     

The role of perceptual load in inattentional blindness

Perceptual load theory offers a resolution to the long-standing early vs. late selection debate over whether task-irrelevant stimuli are perceived, suggesting that irrelevant perception depends upon the perceptual load of task-relevant processing. However, previous evidence for this theory has relied on RTs and neuroimaging. Here we tested the effects of load on conscious perception using the "inattentional blindness" paradigm. As predicted by load theory, awareness of a task-irrelevant stimulus was significantly reduced by higher perceptual load (with increased numbers of search items, or a harder discrimination vs. detection task). These results demonstrate that conscious perception of task-irrelevant stimuli critically depends upon the level of task-relevant perceptual load rather than intentions or expectations, thus enhancing the resolution to the early vs. late selection debate offered by the perceptual load theory.     

Reducing and restoring stimulus-response compatibility effects by decreasing the discriminability of location words

In two experiments, we compared level of activation and temporal overlap accounts of compatibility effects in the Simon task by reducing the discriminability of spatial and non-spatial features of a target location word. Participants made keypress responses to the non-spatial or spatial feature of centrally presented location words. The discriminability of the spatial feature of the word (Experiment 1), or of both the spatial and non-spatial feature (Experiment 2), was manipulated. When the spatial feature of the word was task-irrelevant, lowering the discriminability of this feature reduced the compatibility effect. The compatibility effect was restored when the discriminability of both the task-relevant and task-irrelevant features were reduced together. Results provide further evidence for the temporal overlap account of compatibility effects. Furthermore, compatibility effects when the spatial information was task-relevant and those when the spatial information was task-irrelevant were moderately correlated with each other, suggesting a common underlying mechanism in both versions.     

Target–target similarity and the attentional blink: Task-relevance matters!

Studies of the attentional blink (AB) indicate that similarity modulates the magnitude of the impairment in reporting the second of two masked targets. The present experiments tested whether similarity-based modulations of the AB are determined by all object dimensions or by task-relevant dimensions only. Similarity between target faces was manipulated on two dimensions, only one of which was task relevant. The results indicated that similarity on the task-relevant dimension modulated the AB, whereas similarity on task-irrelevant dimension did not. These results suggest that selection during the AB can occur on the level of task-relevant dimensions.     

Processing head fakes in basketball: Are there ironic effects of instructions on the head-fake effect in basketball?

Instructions in sports are used to improve athletes’ performance. However, instructions can also impair performance if they direct athletes’ attention to a to-be-avoided behavior which paradoxically provokes exactly that behavior (ironic effect). The present study investigates the impact of different instructions on the head-fake effect in basketball. Specifically, we asked here if deliberate attempts to ignore the deceptive cues gaze direction and head orientation increase the impact of that information and thus, paradoxically increase the head-fake effect. We found that the detrimental impact of spatially incongruent gaze direction and head orientation was essentially independent of whether participants were, or were not, instructed to deliberately ignore the task-irrelevant information. Hence, deceptive actions exert their impact independent of the perceivers’ attempts to ignore deceptive cues. We thus conclude that the deceptive cues gaze direction and head orientation are per se hyper-accessible or over-salient and its processing cannot be controlled with any amount of mental capacity (and even not with the non-ironic instruction). However, as both ignore instructions produce general processing costs (i.e., slower reactions) coaches should solely instruct athletes’ to focus attention on the processing of the pass direction.     

Interference From Multi-dimensional Objects During Feature and Conjunction Discriminations

Feature discrimination performance within an attended object and interference from irrelevant, multi-dimensional objects (distractors) were examined in a two-choice, response compatibility paradigm. Results showed that the amount of interference by multi-dimensional distractors was dependent on three factors: (1) the discriminability of the incompatible, task-relevant distractor features; (2) the number of incompatible, task-relevant distractor features; and (3) whether the task-relevant, incompatible features matched the task goals. The most interesting finding was that additive priming effects were found for multiple, task-relevant features that matched the task goals, whether these features were present in the attended object or in the ignored object. Models that assume that each task-relevant feature primes its corresponding decision/response asynchronously and that this priming is combined to meet a decision/response criterion (at least when attended) can account for distractor interference during conjunction discriminations. Implications of these findings for feature integration models, template models, and a response selection model are discussed.     

The role of visual attention in action priming

It has been demonstrated that the task-irrelevant left–right orientation of an object is capable of facilitating left–right-hand responses when the object is orientated towards the responding hand. We investigated the role of attention in this orientation effect. Experiment 1 showed that object orientation facilitates responses of the hand that is compatible with the object's orientation, despite the entire object being irrelevant. However, when a task-relevant fixation point was displayed over the prime object in Experiment 2, the effect was not observed. Together Experiments 1 and 2 suggest that the orientation information of viewed objects primes the action selection processes even when the object is irrelevant, but only when attention is not allocated to a competing stimulus during the prime presentation. Experiment 3 suggested that the elimination of the effect in Experiment 2 could not be attributed to the elimination of an attentional shift to the graspable part of the prime. Finally, Experiment 4 showed that object orientation can evoke an abstract response code, influencing the selection of finger responses.     

The role of visual attention in action priming

It has been demonstrated that the task-irrelevant left-right orientation of an object is capable of facilitating left-right-hand responses when the object is orientated towards the responding hand. We investigated the role of attention in this orientation effect. Experiment 1 showed that object orientation facilitates responses of the hand that is compatible with the object's orientation, despite the entire object being irrelevant. However, when a task-relevant fixation point was displayed over the prime object in Experiment 2, the effect was not observed. Together Experiments 1 and 2 suggest that the orientation information of viewed objects primes the action selection processes even when the object is irrelevant, but only when attention is not allocated to a competing stimulus during the prime presentation. Experiment 3 suggested that the elimination of the effect in Experiment 2 could not be attributed to the elimination of an attentional shift to the graspable part of the prime. Finally, Experiment 4 showed that object orientation can evoke an abstract response code, influencing the selection of finger responses.     

Long trial durations normalise the interference effect and sequential updating during healthy aging

We examined the effect of a task-irrelevant dimension on response times in young adults and seniors. We used the Simon task with congruent trials where the target and manual response were on the same side, incongruent trials where the target and response were on opposite sides, and neutral trials where the target appeared along the vertical meridian. We observed two age-related effects. First, there was a larger congruency effect in senior participants that was driven by greater interference; namely, their responses were slower on incongruent relative to neutral trials. Second, there was a Gratton effect; namely, a diminished Simon effect was found in young adults but not in seniors when the preceding trial was incongruent. However, these effects of aging were normalised when the inter-trial interval was increased; the Simon effect and interference were reduced and a Gratton effect appeared for seniors. We conclude that aging may impair the ability to quickly adapt to changing environmental circumstances when they require reformulating current behavioral strategies.     

时间任务需求对无关情绪面孔注意捕获的影响

注意捕获是指与任务无关的刺激能够不自觉地吸引注意的现象。实验一采用视觉搜索任务,考察与主任务无关的情绪面孔的注意捕获水平及其机制,实验二进一步探究时间任务需求对无关情绪面孔注意捕获的影响。结果发现:与其他情绪面孔相比,愤怒的情绪面孔捕获了更多的注意,且受到整体情绪加工的影响;时间任务需求影响了目标刺激的注意选择,但愤怒优势效应不受到时间任务需求的影响,因此可能是一种较为自动化的加工过程。     

Flowers and spiders in spatial stimulus-response compatibility: does affective valence influence selection of task-sets or selection of responses?

The present study examined the effect of stimulus valence on two levels of selection in the cognitive system, selection of a task-set and selection of a response. In the first experiment, participants performed a spatial compatibility task (pressing left and right keys according to the locations of stimuli) in which stimulus-response mappings were determined by stimulus valence. There was a standard spatial stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) effect for positive stimuli (flowers) and a reversed SRC effect for negative stimuli (spiders), but the same data could be interpreted as showing faster responses when positive and negative stimuli were assigned to compatible and incompatible mappings, respectively, than when the assignment was opposite. Experiment 2 disentangled these interpretations, showing that valence did not influence a spatial SRC effect (Simon effect) when task-set retrieval was unnecessary. Experiments 3 and 4 replaced keypress responses with joystick deflections that afforded approach/avoidance action coding. Stimulus valence modulated the Simon effect (but did not reverse it) when the valence was task-relevant (Experiment 3) as well as when it was task-irrelevant (Experiment 4). Therefore, stimulus valence influences task-set selection and response selection, but the influence on the latter is limited to conditions where responses afford approach/avoidance action coding.     

工作记忆表征的激活与抑制状态对注意引导效应的影响

本研究采用双任务范式, 通过定向遗忘任务操纵工作记忆表征状态, 分别在目标无关和目标相关条件下考察工作记忆激活与抑制状态对视觉搜索早期注意引导效应的影响。实验1与实验2发现当工作记忆表征只可能与视觉搜索分心物匹配时(目标无关条件), 处于激活状态的工作记忆表征会引导视觉注意偏向到与之匹配的分心物, 表现出注意引导效应, 而处于抑制状态的工作记忆表征则没有观察到注意引导效应。实验3与实验4发现, 当工作记忆表征有可能与视觉搜索目标匹配时(目标相关条件), 处于激活状态的工作记忆表征能捕获注意, 而处于抑制状态的工作记忆表征只有与视觉搜索目标匹配时, 才表现出对该搜索目标反应的延迟。这些研究的结果表明(1)处于激活状态的工作记忆表征能有效地引导注意偏向到与之匹配的搜索目标或分心物, 并且这种注意引导效应并未受到抑制动机的影响而被消除或反转; (2)处于抑制状态的工作记忆表征能将抑制状态传递到视觉搜索阶段, 并延迟对与之匹配的搜索目标的反应。