Dilution, Not Load, Affects Distractor Processing

作者：Wilson Daryl E^*; Muroi Miya; MacLeod Colin M

来源：Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance , 2011, 37(2): 319-335.

DOI：10.1037/a0021433

• selective attention
• load
• distractor
• interference

Lavie and Tsal (1994) proposed that spare attentional capacity is allocated involuntarily to the processing of irrelevant stimuli, thereby enabling interference. Under this view, when task demands increase, spare capacity should decrease and distractor interference should decrease. In support, Lavie and Cox (1997) found that increasing perceptual load by increasing search set size decreased interference from an irrelevant distractor. In three experiments, we manipulated the cue set size (number of cued locations) independently of the display set size (number of letters presented). Increasing the display set size reduced distractor interference regardless of whether the additional letters were relevant to the task. In contrast, increasing the cue set size increased distractor interference. Both findings are inconsistent with the load explanation, but are consistent with a proposed two-stage dilution account.

• 出版日期2011-4