Recent behavioral studies have shown that color imagery can benefit visual search when it is congruent with an upcoming target. In the present study we investigated whether this color imagery benefit was due to the processes underlying attentional guidance, as indicated by the electrophysiological marker known as the N2pc component. Participants were instructed to imagine a color prior to each trial of a singleton search task. On some trials, the imagined color was congruent with the target, and on other trials, it was congruent with the distractors. The analyses revealed that the N2pc was present when color imagery was congruent with the search target, and absent when it was congruent with the distractors. Further, there was preliminary evidence that attentional guidance depended on the vividness of color imagery and the frequency at which participants implemented the imagery instruction. Overall, the results of the present study indicate that color imagery can influence the attentional guidance processes underlying visual search.

最近的行为研究表明，当彩色图像与即将到来的目标一致时，彩色图像可以使视觉搜索受益。在本研究中，我们调查了这种彩色图像的好处是否是由于注意力指导下的过程所致，正如称为N2pc组分的电生理标记所表明的那样。指示参与者在每次尝试单例搜索任务之前先想象一下颜色。在某些试验中，想象的颜色与目标一致，而在其他试验中，其与干扰物一致。分析表明，N2pc在彩色图像与搜索目标一致时存在，而在与干扰物一致时则不存在。进一步，有初步证据表明，注意指导取决于彩色图像的鲜艳度和参与者实施图像教学的频率。总体而言，本研究的结果表明，彩色图像可以影响视觉搜索背后的注意指导过程。