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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

Top-down influences mediate hand bias in spatial attention.

John P Garza¹, Michael J Strom, Charles E Wright

¹Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 S. Race St., Denver, CO 80208, USA.

Attention, Perception & Psychophysics

|June 1, 2013

Summary

Top-down task priorities can shift spatial attention bias towards the hand. This research shows that focusing on the response hand enhances processing of nearby visual targets.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Visual Attention Research

Background:

Spatial attention is often biased towards locations near the body, particularly the hand.
Previous research suggests facilitated visual processing for targets within hand-grasping space.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how top-down task priorities influence the hand bias in spatial attention.
To determine if instructional sets can modulate the attentional processing of hand-related locations.

Main Methods:

Utilized a covert orienting paradigm with nonpredictive cues.
Manipulated the relevance of hand location versus response location through experimental instructions.
Compared responses to targets near hands versus control anchors (boards).

Main Results:

Experiment 1 showed a hand-specific bias, speeding responses to targets near the hand, replicating prior findings.
Experiment 2 demonstrated that emphasizing the response hand location eliminated the hand-specific bias, speeding responses to targets near the response location.
Results indicate that attentional bias is flexible and influenced by task demands.

Conclusions:

Top-down instructional sets can alter the processing priority of hand locations.
The interplay between top-down and bottom-up attentional processes is crucial for modulating spatial biases.
Attentional hand bias is not fixed but dynamically adjusted based on task relevance.