Research article summary (published 29 Nov 2007):

Inhibition of return and object-based attentional selection.

Full Abstract

Visual attention research has revealed that attentional allocation can occur in space- and/or object-based coordinates. Using the direct and elegant design of R. Egly, J. Driver, and R. Rafal (1994), the present experiments tested whether space- and object-based inhibition of return (IOR) emerge under similar time courses. The experiments were capable of isolating both space- and object-based effects induced by peripheral and back-to-center cues. The results generally support the contention that spatially nonpredictive cues are effective in producing space-based IOR at a variety of stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) and under a variety of stimulus conditions. Whether facilitatory or inhibitory in direction, the object-based effects occurred over a very different time course than did the space-based effects. Reliable object-based IOR was only found under limited conditions and was tied to the time since the most recent cue (peripheral or central). The finding that object-based effects are generally determined by SOA from the most recent cue may help to resolve discrepancies in the IOR literature. These findings also have implications for the search facilitator role that IOR is purported to play in the guidance of visual attention.

Author information

Author/s: List, Alexandra (A); Robertson, Lynn C (LC);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, USA. a.list(-atsign-)bangor.ac.uk

Grants: MH55682 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; R01 MH055682-03 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance (J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Dec; vol 33 (issue 6) : pp 1322-34

Dates: Created 2007/12/18; Completed 2008/03/19; Revised 2009/02/11;

PMID: 18085946, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Adult Attention Conflict (Psychology) Cues Discrimination Learning Female Humans

Inhibition (Psychology) Male Orientation Pattern Recognition, Visual Psychophysics Reaction Time Set (Psychology)

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

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