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Attention and the detection of signals (1980)
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| Venue: | Journal of Experimental Psychology: General |
| Citations: | 565 - 2 self |
BibTeX
@ARTICLE{Posner80attentionand,
author = {Michael I. Posner and Charles R. R. Snyder and Brian J. Davidson},
title = {Attention and the detection of signals},
journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychology: General},
year = {1980},
pages = {160--174}
}
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Abstract
Detection of a visual signal requires information to reach a system capable of eliciting arbitrary responses required by the experimenter. Detection latencies are reduced when subjects receive a cue that indicates where in the visual field the signal will occur. This shift in efficiency appears to be due to an alignment (orient-ing) of the central attentional system with the pathways to be activated by the visual input. It would also be possible to describe these results as being due to a reduced criterion at the expected target position. However, this description ignores impor-tant constraints about the way in which expectancy improves performance. First, when subjects are cued on each trial, they show stronger expectancy effects than when a probable position is held constant for a block, indicating the active nature of the expectancy. Second, while information on spatial position improves per-formance, information on the form of the stimulus does not. Third, expectancy may lead to improvements in latency without a reduction in accuracy. Fourth, there appears to be little ability to lower the criterion at two positions that are
