The effect of masking in the attentional dwell time paradigm

TY - ABST

T1 - The effect of masking in the attentional dwell time paradigm

AU - Petersen, Anders

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - A temporary functional blindness to the second of two spatially separated targets has been identified in numerous studies of temporal visual attention. This effect is known as attentional dwell time and is maximal 200 to 500 ms after presentation of the first target (e.g. Duncan, Ward, Shapiro, 1994). In most studies of attentional dwell time, two masked targets have been used. Moore et al. (1996) have criticised the masking of the first target when measuring the attentional dwell time, finding a shorter attentional dwell time when the first mask was omitted. In the presented work, the effect of the first mask is further investigated by including a condition where the first mask is presented without a target. The results from individual subjects show that the findings of Moore et al. can be replicated. The results also suggest that presenting the first mask without a target is enough to produce an impairment of the second target. Hence, the attentional dwell time may be a combined effect arising from attending to both the first target and its mask.

AB - A temporary functional blindness to the second of two spatially separated targets has been identified in numerous studies of temporal visual attention. This effect is known as attentional dwell time and is maximal 200 to 500 ms after presentation of the first target (e.g. Duncan, Ward, Shapiro, 1994). In most studies of attentional dwell time, two masked targets have been used. Moore et al. (1996) have criticised the masking of the first target when measuring the attentional dwell time, finding a shorter attentional dwell time when the first mask was omitted. In the presented work, the effect of the first mask is further investigated by including a condition where the first mask is presented without a target. The results from individual subjects show that the findings of Moore et al. can be replicated. The results also suggest that presenting the first mask without a target is enough to produce an impairment of the second target. Hence, the attentional dwell time may be a combined effect arising from attending to both the first target and its mask.

M3 - Conference abstract in proceedings

SP - 116

BT - Proceedings of the 16th meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology

T2 - The 16th meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology

Y2 - 2 September 2009 through 5 September 2009

ER -