Attention: Reaction Time and Accuracy Reveal Different Mechanisms.

Abstract

The authors propose that there are 2 different mechanisms whereby spatial cues capture attention. The voluntary mechanism is the strategic allocation of perceptual resources to the location most likely to contain the target. The involuntary mechanism is a reflexive orienting response that occurs even when the spatial cue does not indicate the probable target location. Voluntary attention enhances the perceptual representation of the stimulus in the cued location relative to other locations. Hence, voluntary attention affects performance in experiments designed around both accuracy and reaction time. Involuntary attention affects a decision as to which location should be responded to. Because involuntary attention does not change the perceptual representation, it affects performance in reaction time experiments but not accuracy experiments. The authors obtained this pattern of results in 4 different versions of the spatial cuing paradigm.

The role of spatial and nonspatial information in visual selection.

“…For example, when the color dimension was cued, participants were faster in deciding that a color singleton was present than they were when a shape singleton was present. Even though, on the face of them, these findings seem to suggest that nonspatial information can affect the efficiency of visual selection, it should be realized that in the Müller et al study the cue may not only have affected visual selection; it may also have affected response selection because the cue provided information about the target participants needed to respond to (see Mortier et al, 2005;Prinzmetal et al, 2005, for a similar arguments). Indeed it is possible that RT costs and benefits obtained in previous studies, such as those by Müller et al, may have nothing to do with an improvement of the perceptual representation but may instead reflect effects on later (response) decision processes (e.g., Cohen & Magen, 1999;Theeuwes et al, 2006).…”

“…Previous studies that used RT as a dependent measure may have reported effects of nonspatial attention that may have nothing to do with initial visual selection but may represent effects that Prinzmetal et al (2005) labeled "channel selection." Indeed, according to Prinzmetal et al, channel selection can formally be described as a decision process possibly related to the selection of responses.…”

The predictive value of attentional bias towards pain-related information in chronic pain patients: A diary study

“…The use of an accuracy approach instead of looking at reaction time performance may be considered as a possible alternative for future research [40,60].…”

Attentional biases in social anxiety: An investigation using the inattentional blindness paradigm

“…This seems to provide a reasonable account for the tendency observed in both Experiment 1 and 2 that relative to HSAs, LSAs was more likely to misidentify the negative face following the detection of its unexpected emergence. Finally, some bottom-up stimulus features (e.g., salience) may also contribute to the detection of the unexpected object by bypassing the top-down filtering/matching mechanism (See Figure One line of research has investigated two types of attentional processing using the spatial cueing paradigm developed by Posner and colleagues (Posner, 1980;Posner et al, 1980): endogenous attention vs. exogenous attention (e.g., Prinzmetal, McCool, & Park, 2005;Prinzmetal, Park, & Garrett, 2005). Several classification schemes corresponding to this attention taxonomy have been put forth: voluntary vs. involuntary attention, goaldirected attention vs. stimulus-driven capture, controlled vs. automatic attention, push vs.…”