Gaspelin Nicholas, Ruthruff Eric, Jung Kyunghun
Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico.
Department of Social and International Studies, Southern Polytechnic State University.
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2014 Jun;40(3):1257-73. doi: 10.1037/a0036179. Epub 2014 Apr 14.
In the flanker paradigm, participants identify a target letter while attempting to ignore an irrelevant flanker. When the identity of this flanker mismatches the target, target identification is slowed (called the flanker compatibility effect). Interestingly, reducing the array set size greatly increases flanker compatibility effects. This finding inspired 2 prominent explanations: perceptual load (mandatory capacity spillover) and dilution (visual interference). However, an alternative explanation, based on early selection theory and attention capture research, can also explain the data pattern. According to this "slippage" account, observers sometimes accidentally allocate spatial attention to the flanker (see Lachter, Forster, & Ruthruff, 2004), especially when the flanker has the property used to find the target (cf. contingent capture). In Experiments 1 through 4, deterring slippage to the flanker nearly eliminated flanker compatibility effects, even at the low set size. In Experiment 5, promoting slippage to the flanker dramatically enhanced compatibility effects, even at the high set size. Thus, slippage strongly modulates flanker effects and can, by itself, readily explain the impact of set size. The perceptual load and dilution accounts are, at best, incomplete, and, at worst, not needed.
在侧翼干扰范式中，参与者要识别一个目标字母，同时试图忽略一个无关的侧翼干扰项。当这个侧翼干扰项的特征与目标不匹配时，目标识别就会变慢（称为侧翼干扰相容性效应）。有趣的是，减小阵列集大小会大大增加侧翼干扰相容性效应。这一发现引发了两种主要解释：知觉负载（强制性容量溢出）和稀释（视觉干扰）。然而，基于早期选择理论和注意捕获研究的另一种解释，也能解释这种数据模式。根据这种“注意力转移”观点，观察者有时会意外地将空间注意力分配到侧翼干扰项上（见拉赫特、福斯特和鲁思拉夫，2004），尤其是当侧翼干扰项具有用于寻找目标的特征时（参见偶然捕获）。在实验1至4中，即使在低集大小条件下，阻止注意力转移到侧翼干扰项几乎消除了侧翼干扰相容性效应。在实验5中，即使在高集大小条件下，促使注意力转移到侧翼干扰项也显著增强了相容性效应。因此，注意力转移强烈调节侧翼干扰效应，并且仅凭自身就能轻松解释集大小的影响。知觉负载和稀释观点充其量是不完整的，最坏的情况是根本不需要。
