Target detection in left and right hemispace: effects of positional pre-cuing and type of background

The two experiments reported here examined the degree to which detection of targets by the right hemisphere can be characterized as occurring at the global level and detection by the left hemisphere can be characterized as occurring at the local level. Although the results provided some evidence for such a dichotomy, these hemispheric differences in processing were modified by the overall configuration in which the item is embedded, the nature of the background, and whether a precue indicates the probable location of the target. The findings are discussed in relation to current theories of hemispheric differences in spatial processing.