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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
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A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets
Published on: December 5, 2014
Modulation of the attentional blink by differential resource allocation
D I Shore1, E N Mclaughlin, R M Klein
1Rotman Research Institute. dshore@mcmaster.ca, ray.klein@dal.ca
Summary
The attentional blink, a deficit in identifying a second target, is influenced by the difficulty of processing the first target. When first target difficulty is presented in blocks, greater difficulty increases the attentional blink magnitude.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human attention
Background:
- The attentional blink (AB) is a phenomenon where identifying a second target (T2) is impaired following a first target (T1) presented in close temporal succession.
- Prior research suggests T1 processing difficulty amplifies the AB magnitude.
- Previous studies using interleaved T1 difficulty levels found no such effect, possibly due to methodological variations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between T1 difficulty and AB magnitude.
- To determine if blocked presentation of T1 difficulty, characteristic of AB literature, reinstates the effect of T1 difficulty on blink magnitude.
- To explore the role of resource allocation in mediating the AB.
Main Methods:
- Replication of a previous study that randomized T1 difficulty levels.
- Implementation of a blocked manipulation of T1 difficulty, contrasting with the previous study's design.
- Measurement of T2 identification accuracy to quantify AB magnitude across different T1 difficulty levels.
Main Results:
- A significant positive correlation was observed between T1 difficulty and AB magnitude when T1 difficulty was presented in blocks.
- This finding contrasts with the previous study where randomly intermixed T1 difficulty did not affect blink magnitude.
- Blocked presentation of T1 difficulty appears critical for observing the influence of T1 difficulty on the attentional blink.
Conclusions:
- The presentation format of T1 difficulty (blocked vs. random) is a critical factor influencing the attentional blink.
- Resource allocation strategies for encoding T1 are likely modulated by blocked T1 difficulty, thereby mediating the AB magnitude.
- Findings highlight the importance of considering experimental design in attentional blink research.
