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The gradual emergence of spatially selective target processing in visual search: From feature-specific to object-based attentional control

Eimer, M.; Grubert, A.

The gradual emergence of spatially selective target processing in visual search: From feature-specific to object-based attentional control Thumbnail


Authors

M. Eimer



Abstract

To dissociate feature-based and object-based stages in the control of spatial attention during visual search, we employed the N2pc component as an electrophysiological marker of attentional object selection. Participants searched for a target object that was defined by a conjunction of color and shape. Some search displays contained the target or a nontarget object that matched either the target color or its shape among 3 nonmatching distractors. In other displays, the target and a partially target-matching nontarget object appeared together. N2pc results demonstrated that the initial stage of attentional object selection is controlled by local feature-specific signals. Attention is allocated in parallel and independently to objects with target-matching features during this early stage, irrespective of whether another target-matching object is simultaneously present elsewhere. From around 250 ms poststimulus, information is integrated across feature dimensions, and spatially selective attentional processing becomes object-based. These findings demonstrate that feature-based and object-based stages of attentional selectivity in visual search can be dissociated in real time.

Citation

Eimer, M., & Grubert, A. (2014). The gradual emergence of spatially selective target processing in visual search: From feature-specific to object-based attentional control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 40(5), 1819-1831. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037387

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 7, 2014
Publication Date Oct 1, 2014
Deposit Date Jan 19, 2017
Publicly Available Date Apr 24, 2017
Journal Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
Print ISSN 0096-1523
Electronic ISSN 1939-1277
Publisher American Psychological Association
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 40
Issue 5
Pages 1819-1831
DOI https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037387
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1366886

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Accepted Journal Article (Revised version with figures) (1.4 Mb)
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Copyright Statement
Revised version with figures © 2014 APA, all rights reserved. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.






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