A region complexity effect masquerading as object-based attention

Abstract

A large portion of the evidence for object-based attention comes from experiments using the two-rectangle paradigm introduced by Egly, Driver, and Rafal (1994), in which response times are longer when the two stimulus locations relevant to the task are on separate objects. In the new experiments presented here, response times are longer when the two locations are part of the same object but are separated by a concavity in the object, so that the region directly between the two locations is crossed by the object's boundaries. Response times when the two locations are separated by the concavity are not statistically different from when they are on two separate objects. The results are similar for a two-letter comparison task and for a spatial cuing task. Thus, in these experiments, the response time increase does not reflect the cost of shifting attention from object to object, because it appears when the two locations are on the same object, and it is not increased when they are on different objects. Instead, it seems to reflect the complexity of the region between the two stimulus locations. This finding raises questions about whether data from previous two-rectangle experiments should be attributed to object-based attention.

Broad attention uncovers benefits of stimulus uniformity in visual crowding

“… 82 – 85 ). Same-object advantages have been suggested to reflect a facilitated, often automatic broadening of attention within but not between objects 86 – 89 (but see 90 for strategic control over the spreading of attention within objects), or within uniform versus non-uniform regions 91 . Similar to foveal vision, the difference in ‘objecthood’ between uniform and alternating trigrams may have modulated the attentional spreading of attention in the current study.…”

Can faces affect object-based attention? Evidence from online experiments

“…Resultantly, the filtering cost could be object-based. A more relevant study by Chen et al ( 2020 ) manipulated the region complexity between two targets in a modified version of the double-rectangle paradigm and found that the cost in RTs was observed when the region between the two targets was more complex. This result indicated that region complexity played an essential role in the OBA effect (Chen et al, 2020 ).…”

“…A more relevant study by Chen et al ( 2020 ) manipulated the region complexity between two targets in a modified version of the double-rectangle paradigm and found that the cost in RTs was observed when the region between the two targets was more complex. This result indicated that region complexity played an essential role in the OBA effect (Chen et al, 2020 ). A more complex region between two relevant locations might result in a higher filtering cost and, consequently, contribute to longer RTs in the within-object condition.…”

Visual Attention in Crisis

“…Comparison tasks may less often lead to OBA effects because with two task-relevant locations the observer less obviously benefits from breaking fixation. More recent work questions object-based attention by putting target and cue on the same object and varying the complexity of the intervening object (Figure 6B; Chen et al, 2020). Observers perform better when the object between cue and target is simple, and worse when it is complex, in line with a crowding explanation.…”