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The action is in the task set, not in the action.
Maria M Robinson1, John Clevenger1, David E Irwin1
1Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, United States.
Cognitive Psychology
|December 10, 2017
Summary
Motor actions do not directly cause attentional bias. Instead, attentional bias arises from matching external objects to internal attentional templates, challenging action-based accounts of attention.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Attention Research
Background:
- Two theories explain attentional bias: action-based and attentional template matching.
- The action-based account suggests motor responses influence subsequent attention.
- The attentional template matching account proposes matching stimuli to prior settings increases processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the source of attentional bias.
- To differentiate between action-based and attentional template matching accounts.
- To determine if motor processing alone affects attention.
Main Methods:
- Seven experiments were conducted to contrast the two accounts.
- Participants performed tasks involving motor responses and passive viewing.
- Stimulus properties were manipulated as task-relevant or task-irrelevant.
Main Results:
- Acting towards a task-irrelevant object did not yield greater priming than passive viewing.
- Task-relevant stimulus effects on attention required generating an attentional template, irrespective of motor action.
- Attentional effects occurred when an attentional template match was likely, even without a motor response.
Conclusions:
- Previously observed motor-based effects on attention are likely due to attentional bias towards prior targets.
- Findings strongly support the attentional template matching account.
- Evidence does not support the action-based account of attentional bias.
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