Humans reconfigure target and distractor processing to address distinct task demands.

ABSTRACT: When faced with distraction, we can focus more on goal-relevant information (targets) or focus less on goal-conflicting information (distractors). How people use cognitive control to distribute attention across targets and distractors remains unclear. We address this question by developing a novel Parametric Attentional Control Task that can "tag" participants' sensitivity to target and distractor information. We use these precise measures of attention to develop a novel process model that can explain how participants control attention toward targets and distractors. Across three experiments, we find that participants met the demands of this task by independently controlling their processing of target and distractor information, exhibiting distinct adaptations to manipulations of incentive

SUBMITTER: Ritz H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11193598 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature