ABSTRACT

The functioning of spatial attention and its effects on visual processing are typically studied using chronometric and accuracy measures of behaviour. However, a growing body of literature has studied the attentional repulsion effect (ARE). Simply put, when attention is focused on one location in the visual field, stimuli appearing nearby the attended location are perceived as being located further away from the attended location than they physically are. The ARE is particularly compelling, as it is best explained by considering the receptive field properties of visual cells, thus allowing for more direct comparisons between behaviour and neural functioning. Nonetheless, most research testing the ARE has manipulated spatial attention exogenously. Furthermore, for studies that have explored endogenous attention and the ARE, empirical evidence is conflicting. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to address this inconsistency by testing the effect of voluntary attention on spatial repulsion using an optimal operationalization of endogenous attention. Centrally presented, highly informative double-cues were used to shift attention, and placeholders were included in the display to help anchor attention. Overall, we observed strong spatial repulsion effects when attention was shifted endogenously, providing compelling evidence that voluntary deployments of attention can cause perceptual distortions of space.

摘要

通常使用计时和行为准确度度量来研究空间注意力的功能及其对视觉处理的影响。但是，越来越多的文献研究了注意力排斥效应（ARE）。简而言之，当注意力集中在视野中的一个位置上时，出现在照看位置附近的刺激被认为比实际位置更远离照看位置。ARE特别引人注目，因为可以通过考虑视觉细胞的感受野特性来最好地进行解释，从而可以在行为和神经功能之间进行更直接的比较。尽管如此，大多数测试ARE的研究还是外在地操纵了空间注意力。此外，对于探索内源性注意力和ARE的研究，经验证据相互矛盾。因此，当前研究的目的是通过使用内生注意的最佳操作化来测试自愿注意对空间排斥的影响，以解决这一矛盾。集中呈现的，内容丰富的双线索用于转移注意力，并且占位符包含在显示器中以帮助吸引注意力。总体而言，当注意力向内源性转移时，我们观察到了强烈的空间排斥作用，这提供了令人信服的证据表明，注意力的自愿部署会导致空间的感知扭曲。信息量大的双线索用于转移注意力，显示屏中包括占位符以帮助吸引注意力。总体而言，当注意力向内源性转移时，我们观察到了强烈的空间排斥作用，这提供了令人信服的证据表明，注意力的自愿部署会导致空间的感知扭曲。信息量大的双线索用于转移注意力，显示屏中包括占位符以帮助吸引注意力。总体而言，当注意力向内源性转移时，我们观察到了强烈的空间排斥作用，这提供了令人信服的证据表明，注意力的自愿部署会导致空间的感知扭曲。