Context-Dependent Control over Attentional Capture

Autor/inn/en	Cosman, Joshua D.; Vecera, Shaun P.
Titel	Context-Dependent Control over Attentional Capture
Quelle	In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 39 (2013) 3, S.836-848 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0096-1523
DOI	10.1037/a0030027
Schlagwörter	Attention; Memory; Learning; Context Effect; Undergraduate Students; Iowa + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Aufmerksamkeit; Gedächtnis; Lernen
Abstract	A number of studies have demonstrated that the likelihood of a salient item capturing attention is dependent on the "attentional set" an individual employs in a given situation. The instantiation of an attentional set is often viewed as a strategic, voluntary process, relying on working memory systems that represent immediate task priorities. However, influential theories of attention and automaticity propose that goal-directed control can operate more or less automatically on the basis of longer term task representations, a notion supported by a number of recent studies. Here, we provide evidence that longer term contextual learning can rapidly and automatically influence the instantiation of a given attentional set. Observers learned associations between specific attentional sets and specific task-irrelevant background scenes during a training session, and in the ensuing test session, simply reinstating particular scenes on a trial-by-trial basis biased observers to employ the associated attentional set. This directly influenced the magnitude of attentional capture, suggesting that memory for the context in which a task is performed can play an important role in the ability to instantiate a particular attentional set and overcome distraction by salient, task-irrelevant information. (Contains 3 tables, 3 figures, and 1 footnote.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10