Attentional capture by abrupt onsets and feature singletons produces inhibitory surrounds

Mounts, Jeffrey R. W. · 2000 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/bf03212148

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Summary

This study investigates the spatial distribution of visual selective attention, specifically examining whether attentional capture by salient distractors produces inhibitory surrounds that impair the processing of neighboring targets. The research addresses a debate regarding whether attention operates as a gradient filter that enhances processing at a focus while diminishing with distance, or if it actively inhibits processing in regions surrounding the attended location. Previous findings suggested that attending to an object inhibits the processing of nearby items, but it remained unclear whether this inhibition was tied to the attentional salience of the distractor or confounded by task demands. The authors conducted two experiments using visual search tasks where participants discriminated target letters (E or H) embedded in arrays of distractors. Experiment 1 manipulated the attentional set by varying whether the target was a feature singleton (unique form among identical distractors) or a conjunction of features (unique combination among heterogeneous distractors). An irrelevant color singleton distractor was present in the display. Experiment 2 compared the attentional salience of abrupt onsets versus color singletons under conjunction search conditions to rule out confounds related to task difficulty and stimulus homogeneity. Reaction times (RTs) were measured as a function of the distance between the target and the distractor. The results demonstrated that attentional capture is contingent on the attentional salience of the distractor, which is determined by the observer's attentional set. In Experiment 1, color singletons captured attention and produced an inhibitory surround (slowed RTs for targets adjacent to the singleton) only when the target was a feature singleton, prompting a singleton detection strategy. When the target required a conjunction search, the color singleton failed to capture attention, and no inhibitory region was observed. Experiment 2 confirmed that abrupt onsets captured attention and produced inhibitory surrounds even under conjunction search conditions, whereas color singletons did not. In both cases where capture occurred, RTs were slowest when the target was adjacent to the salient distractor and improved as the distance increased. These findings suggest that attentional selection of an object is accompanied by the active inhibition of perceptual processing for neighboring objects. The study distinguishes between attentional preparation and selection, showing that inhibitory surrounds are a consequence of attentional capture by salient items. The results support models proposing that inhibition resolves ambiguity in feature coding by suppressing processing in areas surrounding the attended locus. Furthermore, the data indicate that the ability of a feature singleton to capture attention is flexible and dependent on task demands, whereas abrupt onsets capture attention regardless of the search strategy employed.

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Topics

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• attention selective divided
• inattentional change blindness
• visual search