Dynamic modulation of spatial selection: Online and anticipatory adjustments in the flanker task

Villalonga, Mercedes B.; Noyce, Abigail L.; Sekuler, Robert · 2025 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3758/s13414-025-03026-5

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Summary

This study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of selective attention, specifically how spatial selection is modulated by both within-trial (reactive) and between-trial (anticipatory) factors. The authors address a gap in existing literature, which has predominantly relied on static stimuli to study the flanker task, by introducing dynamic perceptual inputs to better model real-world visual processing. The research aims to bridge the understanding of how attention adjusts in real-time to changing stimulus features and how uncertainty influences selection across different timescales. The researchers conducted four experiments using variants of the Eriksen flanker task, where participants categorized target arrowhead directions while ignoring surrounding flankers. Experiment 1 manipulated the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between targets and flankers across nine values ranging from -400 ms to +200 ms to track the temporal evolution of the flanker congruency effect (FCE). Experiments 2A and 2B introduced dynamic changes in perceptual strength by increasing flanker contrast and, in Experiment 2B, reducing target contrast at various times relative to target onset. Experiment 3 examined the impact of spatial uncertainty on selection. Data were analyzed using error rates, response times, and delta plots to assess the time course of interference. Results from Experiment 1 revealed that the FCE was maximal when flankers preceded the target by 50–100 ms, rather than at simultaneous onset. Delta plot analyses indicated that when flankers preceded targets by 100–200 ms, flanker information was processed faster than target information, whereas when flankers followed targets by 30–100 ms, target processing was faster. When flankers appeared 200 ms after the target, no interference was observed, suggesting target processing completes within this window. Experiments 2A and 2B demonstrated that boosting flanker strength or weakening target strength early in the trial disrupted selection most significantly, supporting the hypothesis that spatial selection is dynamically modulated by intra-trial perceptual inputs. Experiment 3 further showed that uncertainty about stimulus location impedes spatial selection at both local (trial sequence) and global (block) levels. The findings demonstrate that spatial selection in the flanker task is not static but is dynamically modulated by both intra-trial and supra-trial factors. The study provides evidence that the "zoom lens" of attention adjusts reactively to dynamic perceptual inputs and proactively based on uncertainty. By showing that maximal interference occurs when flankers precede targets slightly, and that early changes in stimulus strength disproportionately affect selection, the authors refine models of visual attention. This work highlights the necessity of considering time-varying inputs in understanding how the visual system manages limited processing resources in unpredictable environments.

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• attention selective divided