Prospective Distractor Information Reduces Reward-Related Attentional Capture

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Motivationally salient stimuli, particularly rewards, automatically capture attention.
• This attentional bias for reward is often linked to Pavlovian sign tracking.
• Alternatively, attentional capture may serve an information-seeking function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether providing forewarning about distractor features reduces reward-related attentional capture.
• To differentiate between sign tracking and information-seeking explanations for attentional bias.

Main Methods:

• Experiment 1: Used eye tracking to measure attentional capture when distractor color was forewarned.
• Experiment 2: Employed a response-time task to assess the impact of forewarning about distractor color or reward value.
• Experiment 3: Examined strategic inhibition based on pre-trial information.

Main Results:

• Forewarning participants about the upcoming distractor color virtually eliminated reward-related attentional capture (Experiment 1).
• Significant reductions in attentional capture were observed when participants received information about distractor color or reward value (Experiment 2).

Conclusions:

• Reward-related attentional capture can be significantly reduced by providing advance information about distractors.
• Findings support information-seeking accounts of attentional bias, suggesting attention is modulated by the drive to acquire knowledge about the environment.