Attentional capture and inhibition (of return): the effect on perceptual sensitivity

The present study was designed to determine the spatial distribution of attention in displays in which an irrelevant color singleton was present. The results show that at the location of an irrelevant singleton, there is, first, an increased sensitivity (d'), followed later by a reduced sensitivity. The increased sensitivity implies that, first, the irrelevant singleton captured spatial attention, producing an increased sensory gain for input at the irrelevant distractor location. The later-occurring, reduced sensitivity implies the operation of inhibitory processes, possibly related to inhibition of return.