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What is top-down about contingent capture?

Artem V Belopolsky1, Daniel Schreij, Jan Theeuwes

  • 1Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 BTAmsterdam, The Netherlands. a.belopolsky@psy.vu.nl

Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Attention is captured by both relevant and irrelevant cues, even with a set top-down goal. Intertrial priming and top-down control independently influence attentional capture.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • The contingent capture hypothesis posits that top-down attentional set dictates which stimulus features capture attention.
  • Traditional experiments used fixed targets within blocks, potentially confounding results.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms of contingent capture using a modified precuing paradigm.
  • To determine if top-down attentional set solely governs attentional capture.
  • To differentiate the roles of top-down control and intertrial priming.

Main Methods:

  • A variant of the classic precuing paradigm was employed.
  • Participants adopted a top-down set before each trial, rather than a block-wise set.
  • Intertrial analyses were conducted to assess priming effects.

Main Results:

  • Both relevant and irrelevant stimulus properties captured attention, irrespective of the top-down set.
  • Intertrial priming significantly contributed to previously observed contingent capture effects.
  • Enhanced top-down control led to suppression of irrelevant cues, suggesting disengagement mechanisms.

Conclusions:

  • Top-down control and intertrial priming are distinct contributors to contingent capture.
  • Attentional capture is not solely determined by top-down goals.
  • Top-down control may involve disengaging attention from non-matching properties.