Distractor inhibition is more effective at a central than at a peripheral location

The "distractor eccentricity effect" refers to the finding of reduced interference from an incompatible distractor at a central relative to a peripheral location (Chen, 2008). The present study examines the mechanism that underlies the distractor eccentricity effect, and relates it to the inattentional blindness explored by Mack and Rock (1998), which was also more marked at a foveal than at a parafoveal location. The results suggest that these two visual phenomena may reflect the same underlying mechanism--a gradient of increasing attentional suppression from the periphery to the center.