Risom, S. 1 , Lien, M. 1 & Ruthruff, E. 2
1 Oregon State University
2 University of New Mexico
Many previous studies have suggested that salient-but-irrelevant objects (e.g., a flashing object) cannot capture our spatial attention if we are looking for something else. The present study examined whether salience might nevertheless be able to enhance attention capture by objects that resemble whatever are searching for. Participants were instructed to search the target display for a letter in a specific color (e.g., red) and indicate its identity (L vs. T). The target display was always preceded by a non-informative cue display. The key manipulation whether the cue contained (a) only a relevant (target-related) feature, (b) only a salient-but-irrelevant feature, or (c) a combination of salience and relevance. The cue could appear in the same location as the target (valid trials) or in a different location (invalid trials); the difference between these conditions (the cue validity effect) provides an index of attention capture by the cue. The critical question is whether validity effects are greater for objects that are both relevant and salient than objects that only relevant.