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Published on: September 7, 2018
Surprise-induced blindness: a stimulus-driven attentional limit to conscious perception
Christopher L Asplund1, J Jay Todd, A P Snyder
1Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, USA. chris.asplund@vanderbilt.edu
Summary
Novel stimuli can temporarily block conscious perception, similar to the attentional blink. This study shows that unexpected, bottom-up attention, not just top-down settings, can impair visual awareness.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Visual perception
Background:
- Attentional blink (AB) demonstrates how focusing on one visual event impairs detecting another.
- The AB is typically linked to top-down attentional control.
- Limited conscious perception arises from processing limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if bottom-up attention, triggered by novel stimuli, also causes deficits in conscious perception.
- To compare the effects of bottom-up attention capture with top-down attentional settings.
- To determine the duration and characteristics of perception deficits induced by unexpected stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) paradigm.
- Introduced a novel, unexpected, task-irrelevant 'Surprise' stimulus.
- Measured the impact of the 'Surprise' stimulus on the detection of a subsequent target.
- Varied the timing and frequency of the 'Surprise' stimulus presentation.
Main Results:
- A novel 'Surprise' stimulus caused a profound, short-lived deficit in conscious target detection.
- This deficit occurred within 0.5 seconds after the 'Surprise' stimulus, primarily for its initial presentations.
- The effect of bottom-up attention capture was distinct from, and more transient than, attentional capture by singletons in RSVP.
Conclusions:
- Stimulus-driven attention capture alone can significantly limit explicit perception.
- Bottom-up attention plays a crucial role in modulating conscious awareness.
- The findings highlight the dynamic interplay between attention and perception.
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