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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

Feature-based attentional interference revealed in perceptual errors and lags.

Shih-Yu Lo¹, Christina J Howard, Alex O Holcombe

¹School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Australia. shlo9320@uni.sydney.edu.au

Vision Research

|May 15, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Dividing attention across different features incurs a cost, especially when distractors share target features. This interference impacts selection accuracy and processing speed.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Visual Attention

Background:

Feature-based attention is crucial for selecting visual information.
A limited-resource model suggests dividing attention across features dilutes its effectiveness.
Previous research documented costs for multiple-feature selection, but the stage of processing (selection vs. post-selection) remained unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether multiple-feature costs in attention arise during the selection stage.
To differentiate selection costs from post-selection processing difficulties.
To examine the role of distractors sharing target features in attention costs.

Main Methods:

Participants performed a task requiring selection based on color and reporting spatial period.
Target selection attributes (color) were made distinct from access attributes (spatial period) to isolate the selection stage.
Distractor presence and feature similarity were manipulated.

Main Results:

A cost was observed when targets were defined by different features (colors), indicating selection stage involvement.
This cost was significant only when distractors shared target selection features.
Costs manifested as increased errors in reporting the spatial period and a temporal lag in perception.

Conclusions:

Multiple-feature costs can indeed originate at the visual selection stage.
Distractor interference, particularly with shared features, significantly impacts selection efficiency and processing speed.
Attention splitting itself has minimal cost, but selection interference can be substantial.