Faster target selection in preview visual search depends on luminance onsets: behavioral and electrophysiological evidence

Kiss, Mónika; Eimer, Martin · 2011 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/s13414-011-0165-z

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Summary

This study investigates the mechanisms underlying "preview benefits" in visual search, where detecting a target is faster if distractors are presented in advance rather than simultaneously with the target. While previous theories attributed this benefit to active inhibition of old distractor locations ("visual marking") or temporal segregation, the authors test the hypothesis that preview benefits depend specifically on abrupt luminance changes that trigger automatic attentional capture. The research aims to determine whether previewing distractors expedites spatial target selection at early sensory-perceptual stages and whether this effect persists when stimuli lack luminance contrast. The experiment involved 24 participants performing a visual search task using circular arrays of eight shapes. Targets were defined by a color/shape conjunction (e.g., a blue diamond among blue circles and green diamonds). Three search conditions were tested: a "full-element" baseline where all items appeared simultaneously; a "preview" condition where four distractors appeared for 1,000 ms before the remaining four items (including the potential target) were added; and a "half-element" baseline containing only the four new items. Crucially, stimuli were presented under two luminance conditions: "onset," where items appeared against a black background creating a luminance change, and "equiluminance," where items matched the gray background luminance, eliminating abrupt onset cues. Behavioral response times and electrophysiological data, specifically the N2pc component (an ERP marker of spatial attention), were recorded to assess the speed and locus of target selection. Behavioral results showed that preview benefits were present only in the onset condition. Participants detected targets significantly faster in the preview condition compared to the full-element baseline when luminance onsets were present (461 ms vs. 524 ms). However, this advantage disappeared in the equiluminance condition, where response times did not differ significantly between preview and full-element trials. Electrophysiological findings mirrored these behavioral results. The N2pc component, which indexes the onset of spatially selective target processing, emerged earlier in the preview condition than in the full-element condition only for luminance-onset stimuli (216 ms vs. 235 ms). For equiluminant stimuli, there was no difference in N2pc onset latency between preview and full-element conditions. Additionally, comparisons with the half-element baseline indicated that previewed distractors were effectively ignored in the onset condition, as performance was comparable to searching among only new items. The findings challenge the hypothesis that preview benefits arise from location-based inhibition or temporal segregation alone, as these mechanisms should theoretically operate regardless of luminance contrast. Instead, the results support the claim that preview benefits are driven by automatic attentional capture triggered by abrupt luminance onsets. The absence of both behavioral and electrophysiological benefits for equiluminant stimuli demonstrates that without dynamic visual changes, previewing distractors does not expedite target selection. This underscores the critical role of transient luminance changes in guiding attentional selectivity during visual search.

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• visual search