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A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets
Published on: December 5, 2014
Irrelevant auditory and visual events induce a visual attentional blink
Erik Van der Burg1, Mark R Nieuwenstein, Jan Theeuwes
1Department of Cognitive Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. vanderburg.erik@gmail.com
Experimental Psychology
|October 11, 2012
Summary
A visual attentional blink pattern can be triggered by irrelevant distractors, regardless of their sensory modality. This suggests the attentional blink may stem from amodal processing limitations in the brain.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human Perception
Background:
- The attentional blink is a phenomenon where attention is impaired for a brief period after successfully processing a target.
- The role of distractor modality in inducing the attentional blink is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if task-irrelevant distractors can induce a visual attentional blink.
- To examine the influence of distractor modality (auditory, visual, audiovisual) on the attentional blink.
Main Methods:
- Participants identified a target letter while ignoring preceding auditory, visual, or audiovisual distractors.
- The presence and magnitude of the attentional blink were measured across different distractor conditions.
Main Results:
- An attentional blink was observed irrespective of the distractor's modality.
- The attentional blink was more pronounced following visual or audiovisual distractors compared to auditory distractors.
Conclusions:
- Task-irrelevant distractors can induce an attentional blink, suggesting a link between distractor processing and attentional limitations.
- The findings support the hypothesis that the attentional blink is partly caused by amodal processing limitations.
