The human visual system can only process a fraction of the information present in a typical visual scene, and selection is historically framed as the outcome of bottom–up and top–down control processes. In this study, we evaluated how a third factor, an individual's selection history, interacts with top–down control mechanisms during visual search. Participants in our task were assigned to one of two groups in which they developed a history of either shape or color selection in one task, while searching for a shape singleton in a second task. A voluntary task selection procedure allowed participants to choose which task they would perform on each trial, thereby maximizing their top–down preparation. We recorded EEG throughout and extracted lateralized ERP components that index target selection (N_T) and distractor suppression (P_D). Our results showed that selection history continued to guide attention during visual search, even when top–down control mechanisms were maximized with voluntary task selection. For participants with a history of color selection, the N_T component elicited by a shape target was attenuated when accompanied by a color distractor, and the distractor itself elicited a larger P_D component. In addition, task-switching results revealed that participants in the color group had larger, asymmetric switch costs implying increased competition between task sets. Our results support the notion that selection history is a significant factor in attention guidance, orienting the visual system reflexively to objects that contradict an individual's current goals—even when these goals are intrinsically selected and prepared ahead of time.

人类视觉系统只能处理典型视觉场景中存在的一小部分信息，历史上将选择视为自下而上和自上而下控制过程的结果。在这项研究中，我们评估了第三个因素，即个人的选择历史，在视觉搜索过程中如何与自上而下的控制机制相互作用。我们任务的参与者被分配到两个组中的一个，他们在一项任务中发展了形状或颜色选择的历史，同时在第二个任务中寻找形状单例。自愿任务选择程序允许参与者选择他们将在每次试验中执行的任务，从而最大限度地提高他们自上而下的准备。我们在整个过程中记录了 EEG 并提取了指示目标选择 (N _T) 和干扰抑制 (P _D )。我们的结果表明，选择历史在视觉搜索过程中继续引导注意力，即使自上而下的控制机制通过自愿任务选择最大化。对于有颜色选择历史的参与者，当伴随颜色干扰项时，形状目标引起的 N _T分量会减弱，而干扰项本身引起更大的 P _D成分。此外，任务切换结果显示，颜色组的参与者具有更大的不对称切换成本，这意味着任务集之间的竞争加剧。我们的结果支持这样一种观点，即选择历史是注意力引导的一个重要因素，将视觉系统反射性地定向到与个人当前目标相矛盾的对象——即使这些目标是预先选择和准备好的。