Contextual cueing in older adults: Slow initial learning but flexible use of distractor configurations

Preuschhof, Claudia; Sharifian, Farzad; Rosenblum, Lisa; Pohl, Tanja Maria; Pollmann, Stefan

doi:10.1080/13506285.2019.1668516

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…There is evidence that stimulus-target associations guide visual search to the position of the target (Makovski & Jiang, 2010; Manginelli & Pollmann, 2009). We have shown here that perceptual learning (i.e., distractor-distractor or configural learning) can contribute to the CC effect as well (possibly by spreading inhibition to expected distractor locations), in line with previous results (Beesley et al, 2015, 2016; Preuschhof et al, 2019; Vadillo et al, 2021). And yet, response-related factors might add to the net CC effect (Beesley et al, 2018; Kunar et al, 2007; Sewell et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…However, other results suggest that CC might be quite flexible. At odds with previous results, Preuschhof et al (2019) has shown that CC relearning can be very fast-even faster than the first CC learning. It is not clear why in some experiments relearning is seriously hindered by the first CC learning and in others seems to be facilitated by it.…”

contrasting

confidence: 76%

“…Within-compound associations, configural learning, and perceptual grouping effects are well-known mechanisms supporting associative learning, and have been extensively studied in other paradigms (e.g., Luque et al, 2013; Melchers et al, 2006; Treisman, 1982). Indeed, such processes have been proposed as relevant for producing (or enhancing) CC (Beesley et al, 2016; Preuschhof et al, 2019; Vadillo et al, 2021). How exactly this leads to faster search times is currently unclear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This possible explanation was originally disregarded because the configuration effect was evident at the very beginning of Stage 2. However, Preuschhof et al (2019) have shown that CC “relearning” (learning about a new configuration-target association) can be even faster than the first instance of learning in CC. Moreover, in our experiment, to look for the T in the second stage was in part beneficial for finding the Y, because both stimuli were always close to each other.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contextual cuing of visual search does not guide attention automatically in the presence of top-down goals.

Luque¹,

Beesley²,

Molinero³

et al. 2021

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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Visual search is faster when it occurs within repeated displays, a phenomenon known as contextual cuing (CC). CC has been explained as the result of an automatic orientation of attention toward a target item driven by learned distractor-target associations. In 3 experiments we tested the specific hypothesis that CC is an automatic process of attentional guidance. Participants first searched for a T target in a standard CC procedure. Then, they experienced the same repeated configurations (with the T still present), but now searched for a Y target that was positioned either in a location on the same, or on a different side, from the old T target. Results suggested that there was no interference caused by the old T-target: target search was not affected by the relative positions of the T and Y. Instead, we found a general facilitation in search times for repeated configurations (Experiments 1 and 2). This main effect disappeared when the need for visual search was eliminated in Experiment 3 using a "feature search task". These results suggest that repeated sets of distractors did not trigger an uncontrollable response toward the position of the T; instead, CC was produced by perceptual learning processes. Public Significance StatementHumans optimize their visual search when they have previous experience with a search display. In this study, we investigate how this search facilitation takes place and if it can be controlled once it is stablished. We found that participants were able to control their attention, which provides evidence against the theory that memory of previous search displays automatically activates learned configurations of visual search.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

contrasting

confidence: 76%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Contextual cuing of visual search does not guide attention automatically in the presence of top-down goals.

Luque¹,

Beesley²,

Molinero³

et al. 2021

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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“…Pairing the same configuration of distractors with different target locations, as we did in the present experiments, precludes the first type of learning but not the second. This interpretation is consistent with evidence showing that the search advantage for repeated displays sometimes remains even when the location of the target changes from one stage of the experiment to another (Luque, Vadillo, López, Alonso, & Shanks, 2017; Preuschhof, Sharifian, Rosenblum, Pohl, & Pollmann, 2019). It is also consistent with additional research showing that people can learn to anticipate the location of visual distractors and suppress their processing (Failing & Theeuwes, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

There is more to contextual cuing than meets the eye: Improving visual search without attentional guidance toward predictable target locations.

Vadillo

Giménez‐Fernández

Beesley

et al. 2021

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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It is usually easier to find objects in a visual scene as we gain familiarity with it. Two decades of research on contextual cuing of visual search show that repeated exposure to a search display can facilitate the detection of targets that appear at predictable locations in that display. Typical accounts for this effect attribute an essential role to learned associations between the target and other stimuli in the search display. These associations improve visual search either by driving attention towards the usual location of the target or by facilitating its recognition. Contrary to this view, we show that a robust contextual cuing effect can also be observed when repeated search displays do not allow the location of the target to be predicted. These results suggest that, in addition to the mechanisms already explored by previous research, participants learn to ignore the locations usually occupied by distractors, which in turn facilitates the detection of targets even when they appear in unpredictable locations. Public Significance StatementOver the last two decades, the contextual cuing effect has become a popular laboratory model to explore the interconnection between learning, memory, and attention.In this task, participants' ability to find a target in a search display improves as a result of repeated exposure to the same search display. The most common explanation for this effect is that participants learn to use contextual information to predict the target's location.Contrary to this view, we show that a reliable contextual cuing effect can be found even in situations where the location of the target is completely unpredictable.

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Contextual cueing is not flexible

Yang

Coutinho

Greene

et al. 2021

Consciousness and Cognition

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Contextual cueing in older adults: Slow initial learning but flexible use of distractor configurations

Cited by 6 publications

References 73 publications

Contextual cuing of visual search does not guide attention automatically in the presence of top-down goals.

Contextual cuing of visual search does not guide attention automatically in the presence of top-down goals.

There is more to contextual cuing than meets the eye: Improving visual search without attentional guidance toward predictable target locations.

Contextual cueing is not flexible

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