Social inhibition of return

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Neuroscience
• Human Interaction Studies

Background:

• Inhibition of return (IOR) describes slower responses to stimuli at previously attended locations.
• A novel social IOR (SIOR) effect emerges when individuals alternate responses with a partner.
• The underlying mechanisms of SIOR and its relation to individual IOR are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the novel social IOR (SIOR) effect.
• To compare SIOR induced by real vs. animated conspecifics.
• To explore the conditions under which SIOR emerges, including inferred attention and visual transients.

Main Methods:

• Participants performed a target response task, alternating with a partner (real or animated conspecific).
• Response times were measured to targets appearing at previously responded-to locations.
• Experimental conditions manipulated direct observation and visual cues.

Main Results:

• Social IOR (SIOR) was induced only by a real conspecific, not an animated one.
• SIOR occurred at locations inferred to have been attended by a conspecific, even without direct observation.
• SIOR could be triggered without the abrupt visual transients typically associated with individual IOR.

Conclusions:

• SIOR is a distinct phenomenon requiring interaction with a real conspecific.
• The findings suggest SIOR may involve heightened IOR mechanisms or separate inhibitory processes.
• Social context significantly influences attentional orienting and response inhibition.