The availability of attentional resources modulates the inhibitory strength related to weakly activated priming

The current study investigated the role of attention in inhibitory processes (the inhibitory processes described in the current study refer only to those associated with masked or flanked priming) using a mixed paradigm involving the negative compatibility effect (NCE) and object-based attention. Accumulating evidence suggests that attention can be spread more easily within the same object, which increases the availability of attentional resources, than across different objects. Accordingly, we manipulated distractor location (with primes presented in the same object versus presented in different objects) together with prime/target compatibility (compatible versus incompatible) and prime-distractor stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA, 23 ms vs 70 ms). The aim was to investigate whether inhibitory processes related to weakly activated priming, which have been previously assumed to be automatic, depend on the availability of attentional resources. The results of Experiment 1 showed a significant NCE for the 70-ms SOA when the prime and distractor were presented in the same object (greater attentional resource availability); however, reversed NCEs were obtained for all other conditions. Experiment 2 was designed to disentangle whether the results of Experiment 1 were affected by the prime position, and the results indicated that the prime position did not modulate the NCE in Experiment 1. Together, these results are consistent with the claim that the availability of attentional resources modulates the inhibitory strength related to weakly activated priming. Specifically, if attentional resources are assigned to the distractor when it is presented in the same object as the prime, the strength of the inhibition elicited by the distractor may increase and reverse the activation elicited by the prime, which could lead to a significant NCE.