Reduction of the spatial stroop effect by peripheral cueing as a function of the presence/absence of placeholders.

In a paradigm combining spatial Stroop with spatial cueing, the current study investigated the role of the presence vs. absence of placeholders on the reduction of the spatial Stroop effect by peripheral cueing. At a short cue-target interval, the modulation of peripheral cueing over the spatial Stroop effect was observed independently of the presence/absence of placeholders. At the long cue-target interval, however, this modulation over the spatial Stroop effect only occurred in the placeholders-present condition. These findings show that placeholders are modulators but not mediators of the reduction of the spatial Stroop effect by peripheral cueing, which further favor the cue-target integration account.