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Object-based attention: sensory modulation or priority setting?

Sarah Shomstein1, Steven Yantis

  • 1Department of Psychology, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. ssdw@jhu.edu

Perception & Psychophysics
|March 28, 2002
PubMed
Summary
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Object-based attention effects on target detection are not due to early sensory enhancement. Instead, results suggest attention prioritizes objects later in processing, influencing performance.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Visual Attention

Background:

  • Object-based attention enhances target detection within attended objects.
  • Previous research debated whether this arises from early sensory modulation or later attentional prioritization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether early sensory enhancement or later attentional prioritization best explains object-based attention.
  • To determine if attention spreads within an object or prioritizes entire objects.

Main Methods:

  • Five experiments were conducted using a target identification task with flanking distractors.
  • Distractors were placed either within the same object as the target or in a different object at equal distance.
  • Response compatibility between target and distractors was manipulated.

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Main Results:

  • The effect of distance between target and distractors on compatibility was replicated.
  • Placing target and distractors in the same versus different objects did not affect compatibility effects in initial experiments.
  • Object-based modulation of distractor effects was observed when attention could not be narrowly focused beforehand.

Conclusions:

  • Object-based selection appears to be a later attentional prioritization strategy.
  • Findings do not support object-based modulation of early sensory representations.
  • Attention may prioritize entire objects rather than spreading within them early in processing.