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35+ years of the additional singleton task: Design features and guidelines
Jan Theeuwes1,2,3,4,5
1Cognitive Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. J.Theeuwes@vu.nl.
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|April 28, 2026
Summary
The additional singleton paradigm reveals how distractors capture attention, slowing responses. This review clarifies design factors influencing attentional capture research.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Visual Attention Research
Background:
- The additional singleton paradigm is a key tool in attention research, established in the early 1990s.
- It involves searching for a target while a salient distractor is present, often slowing responses.
- This effect supports stimulus-driven attentional selection theories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the origins and key findings of the additional singleton paradigm.
- To examine how design features influence attentional capture.
- To provide guidelines for using the paradigm effectively in attention research.
Main Methods:
- Review of decades of research utilizing the additional singleton paradigm.
- Analysis of studies focusing on design variations like distractor consistency, prevalence, display size, and similarity.
- Examination of debates surrounding stimulus-driven versus top-down attentional control.
Main Results:
- Distractor singletons reliably slow response times, indicating stimulus-driven capture.
- Specific design features significantly modulate the magnitude of attentional capture effects.
- Consistency in target-distractor assignments and distractor prevalence are critical factors.
Conclusions:
- The additional singleton task is crucial for differentiating stimulus-driven attention from top-down control.
- Careful consideration of design parameters is necessary to avoid misinterpreting attentional capture.
- The paradigm remains a valuable tool for advancing our understanding of visual attention.
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