Feature intertrial priming biases attentional priority: Evidence from the capture-probe paradigm

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Visual Attention

Background:

• Prior experience significantly influences search performance, with attention models incorporating selection history.
• Feature intertrial priming demonstrates faster responses when a target's unique feature repeats across trials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of feature intertrial priming on attentional priority.
• To re-evaluate the interpretation of distractor interference as a measure of attentional priority.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the capture-probe paradigm to measure target priority.
• Compared probe reports at target, distractor, and nontarget locations across conditions of feature repetition and change.

Main Results:

• Probe reports at the target location increased when the target feature repeated, at the expense of distractor and nontarget locations.
• Distractor interference remained unaffected by feature repetition, challenging previous interpretations.

Conclusions:

• Feature intertrial repetition directly influences attentional priority towards the target.
• Distractor interference reflects the distractor's priority relative to nontargets, not the target, necessitating a reinterpretation in attentional capture research.