Inhibition continues to guide search under concurrent visual working memory load.

ABSTRACT: It is well known that attention can be automatically attracted to salient items. However, recent studies show that it is possible to avoid distraction by a salient item (with a known feature), leading to facilitated search. This article tests a proposed mechanism for distractor inhibition: that a mental representation of the distractor feature held in visual working memory (VWM) allows attention to be guided away from the distractor. We tested this explanation by examining color-based inhibition in visual search for a shape target with and without VWM load. In Experiment 1 the presence of a distractor facilitated visual search under low and high VWM loads, as reflected in faster response times when the distractor was present (compared to absent), and in fewer eye movements to the salient d

SUBMITTER: Hamblin-Frohman Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8857620 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature