Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal
Published on: April 18, 2017
Inhibition of return: support for generality of the phenomenon
1Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, USA. cheal@asu.edu
Abstract:
Inhibition of return (IOR), first described in 1984, was considered to be a general phenomenon for ensuring that attention would be allocated to successive stimuli in the environment. In the present research, IOR was expressed in forced-choice identification tasks with either reaction time or accuracy as the dependent measure. Thus, the generality of IOR was supported, because response inhibition cannot explain IOR found with accuracy measures. Concepts from the variable and permeable filters metaphor are used to suggest how changes in attention can change expression of IOR by rapid variation in perceptual threshold.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Feedback Inhibition
Naturalistic Observations
Cause and Effect
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
Social Facilitation
Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction
Generalization occurs when a behavior reinforced in one context is performed in similar situations. For instance, a student who studies diligently for calculus and receives excellent grades might apply the same study habits to psychology and history, expecting similar results. Generalization shows how learning in one setting can influence behavior in...

