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Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

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Published on: January 23, 2017

Does attention alter appearance?

Keith A Schneider¹

¹University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA. ks@rcbi.rochester.edu

Perception & Psychophysics

|November 2, 2006

Summary

Abrupt visual onsets alter stimulus appearance, but this study shows sensory interactions, not attention, cause these changes. Different onset colors affected perceived contrast differently, supporting a sensory mechanism.

Area of Science:

Visual perception
Cognitive psychology
Neuroscience

Background:

Abrupt visual onsets can modify subsequent stimulus appearance.
This effect is hypothesized to involve attentional mechanisms enhancing stimulus contrast.
Alternatively, attention-independent sensory mechanisms may be involved.

Purpose of the Study:

To differentiate between attentional and sensory accounts of visual onset effects.
To investigate how different types of cues (white onsets, black onsets, gaze cues) influence perceived contrast.

Main Methods:

Experiments involved observers comparing target contrasts under different cueing conditions.
Cues included peripheral white onsets, black onsets, and central gaze direction cues.
A control experiment assessed cue effectiveness in orienting attention via response times.

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Main Results:

All cues facilitated perception of near-threshold targets.
White onsets increased perceived contrast of suprathreshold targets; black onsets decreased it.
Gaze cues had no significant effect on perceived contrast but did speed responses.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest sensory interactions, not attention, are primarily responsible for appearance changes.
Differential effects of white versus black onsets support a sensory explanation.
Attention, while engaged by gaze cues, does not explain the observed contrast modulations.