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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
13:00
Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
Published on: January 23, 2017
Selective attention and subjective confidence calibration.
Jordan R Schoenherr1, Craig Leth-Steensen, William M Petrusic
1Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada. psychophysics.lab@gmail.com
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|February 9, 2010
Summary
Participants often fail to notice errors in selective visual attention, especially with distracting flanker stimuli. A cueing method significantly improved attention and reduced overconfidence in accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human Attention Studies
Background:
- Selective visual attention is crucial for processing information.
- Distractor stimuli, like flankers in the Eriksen task, can impair attention.
- Overconfidence in performance can mask attentional failures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate failures in selective visual attention using the flanker task.
- To examine the role of incongruent flankers in driving decisional processing.
- To assess the impact of confidence ratings and attention cues on performance.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Eriksen flanker task with response-congruent, neutral, and incongruent flankers.
- Collected confidence ratings on a subset of trials.
- Introduced a prestimulus target location cue in a final experiment.
Main Results:
- Participants exhibited significant overconfidence in their accuracy with incongruent flankers.
- A target location cue substantially reduced attentional failures and overconfidence.
- Confidence reporting slowed response times and sometimes improved accuracy.
- Neutral flankers also appeared to influence decisional processing.
Conclusions:
- Individuals are frequently unaware of their selective attention failures.
- Decisional processing can be heavily influenced by incongruent distractors.
- Confidence reporting and attention cues modulate performance and awareness of errors.
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