TY - JOUR
T1 - Task-relevance modulates the effects of peripheral distractors
AU - Lichtenstein-Vidne, Limor
AU - Henik, Avishai
AU - Safadi, Ziad
N1 - Funding Information:
Correspondence should be addressed to Avishai Henik, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. E-mail: [email protected] This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation, Grant No. 859/01.
PY - 2007/9/1
Y1 - 2007/9/1
N2 - The current study investigated whether task-relevant information affects performance differently from how information that is not relevant for the task does when presented peripherally and centrally. In three experiments a target appeared inside the focus of attention, whereas a to-be-ignored distractor appeared either in the periphery (Experiments 1 and 2) or at the centre (Experiment 3) of attention. In each trial the distractor carried both task-relevant and irrelevant information. The results confirmed the "task relevance" hypothesis: Task-irrelevant information affected performance only when it appeared at the centre of attention, whereas task-relevant information affected performance when it appeared inside as well as outside the main focus of attention. The current results do not support suggestions that spatial stimuli (e.g., arrows) draw attention automatically regardless of task relevance.
AB - The current study investigated whether task-relevant information affects performance differently from how information that is not relevant for the task does when presented peripherally and centrally. In three experiments a target appeared inside the focus of attention, whereas a to-be-ignored distractor appeared either in the periphery (Experiments 1 and 2) or at the centre (Experiment 3) of attention. In each trial the distractor carried both task-relevant and irrelevant information. The results confirmed the "task relevance" hypothesis: Task-irrelevant information affected performance only when it appeared at the centre of attention, whereas task-relevant information affected performance when it appeared inside as well as outside the main focus of attention. The current results do not support suggestions that spatial stimuli (e.g., arrows) draw attention automatically regardless of task relevance.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34547756961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17470210600917892
DO - 10.1080/17470210600917892
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34547756961
SN - 1747-0218
VL - 60
SP - 1216
EP - 1226
JO - Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
JF - Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
IS - 9
ER -