Focal Distraction: Spatial Shifts of Attentional Focus Are Not Required for Contingent Capture

S. M. Shahab Ghorashi, Samantha M. Zuvic, Troy A.W. Visser, Vincent Di Lollo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Contingent capture occurs when distractors that share the target's defining attribute capture attention and slow down target identification. This slowdown has been attributed to an involuntary attentional shift to the location of a pertinent distractor. The present study examined an additional source of delay: the time spent in processing pertinent distractors. In 7 experiments, distractors were presented at fixation, and targets were presented either at fixation or peripherally. Contingent capture invariably occurred when a salient distractor was presented within about 600 ms before the target, even when spatial shifts in attentional focus were ruled out. A 2-stage model is proposed in which stimuli must pass an input filter tuned to the target's defining attribute before gaining access to a high-level stage that is unavailable while a distractor is being processed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)78-91
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
Volume29
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2003
Externally publishedYes

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