Stimulus onset asynchrony modulates stimuli-driven and goal-directed attention to internal representations

Visual selection for external stimuli, guided by a cue that prioritizes goal-related as well as feature matching stimuli, is modulated by stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) after the cue. However, whether or not the modulation effect of SOA can occur when attention is directed to internal representations in working memory remains unclear. In two experiments, we explored the influences of SOA after a retrospective cue (retro-cue) that simultaneously incurs goal-directed and stimulus-driven priority on internal attention to working memory representations during orientation (Experiment 1) and color (Experiment 2) reproducing tasks. Results of the two experiments suggested that SOA modulated goal-directed attention to working memory representations, with greater goal-directed priority when SOA was longer. Stimulus-driven attention was possibly modulated by SOA, as was suggested by the SOA modulation effect on stimulus-driven priority in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. This study uncovered the temporal dynamics of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention to working memory representations, suggesting that the SOA effect on goal-directed attentional priority is robust across different feature domains.