Attention can be oriented to intermediate locations within the large area of the visual field

The present study examined whether attention can be evenly distributed within the large area of the visual field. The stimulus was presented at one of four locations on the horizontal meridian (0 degrees, 10 degrees, 20 degrees, and 30 degrees to the right). In the Fixed Location condition, the stimulus appeared repeatedly at the same location. In the Random Location condition, the stimulus appeared at one of four locations as determined randomly with equal probability. Reaction times (RTs) in the Random Location condition were significantly longer than those in the Fixed Location condition at the 0 degrees and 30 degrees locations, while there were no significant differences at the 10 degrees and 20 degrees locations. The differences in the RT between conditions were significantly larger at the 0 degrees and 30 degrees locations than those at the 10 degrees and 20 degrees locations. These results suggest that attention was oriented to intermediate locations within the large area of the visual field.