Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026
Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking
Published on: August 29, 2018
Attentional capture effects are modulated by the number of concurrently maintained search goals
Katherine Sledge Moore1, Ariel M Kershner2
1Department of Psychology, Arcadia University, Glenside, PA, United States.
Introduction:
In hybrid visual-memory search, multiple search goals are concurrently maintained in memory and searched for in a visual display. When there are few goals, maintenance can operate in visual working memory, whereas when there are many concurrent search goals, they may be maintained in activated long-term memory. A central question here is how multiple search goals are concurrently maintained in memory and selectively enhanced during search. Two attentional capture effects illustrate goal enhancement in the presence of distraction: contingent capture, when distractors resemble the current trial's target, and set-specific capture, when distractors resemble one of your search goals, but not the current trial's target.
Methods:
In the present study, participants memorized sets of 2, 4, or 16 objects, and searched for them in a continuous rapid serial visual presentation stream. On critical trials, a goal-related distractor appeared 1-2 frames before the target, matching either the same category as that trial's target (contingent capture) or a different target category than that trial's target (set-specific capture).
Results:
Contingent capture was greatest with 16-item sets, whereas set-specific capture was greatest with 2-item sets, and 4-item sets were in between.
Discussion:
These findings indicate that search goal enhancement flexibly adapts to memory load, with implications for models of goal maintenance and attentional control. They also provide the first evidence of set-specific capture with complex objects as search goals.
