The modulation of reward priority by top-down knowledge
Abstract
Reward-associated features capture attention automatically and continue to do so even when the reward contingencies are removed. This profile has led to the hypothesis that rewards belong to a separate class of attentional biases that is neither typically top-down nor bottom-up. The goal of these experiments was to understand the degree to which top-down knowledge can modulate value-driven attentional capture within (a) the timecourse of a single trial and (b) when the reward contingencies change explicitly over trials. The results suggested that top-down knowledge does not affect the size of value-driven attentional capture within a single trial. There were clear top-down modulations in the magnitude of value-driven capture when reward contingencies explicitly changed, but the original reward associations continued to have a persistent bias on attention. These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that reward associations bias attention through mechanisms separate from other top-down and bottom-up attentional biases.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
When participants received explicit instructions about a reversal of the stimulus-reward associations, the direction of the attentional bias did not change immediately.
“They found that when participants received explicit instructions about a reversal of the stimulus-reward associations, such that a previously nonrewarded stimulus feature was now associated with reward and vice versa, the direction of the attentional bias did not change immediately.”
From Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention. (2018) · cites this paper as Stankevich & Geng, 2015
The attentional bias toward the feature associated with reward changed gradually.
“Instead, the attentional bias toward the feature associated with reward changed gradually (for comparable findings in the context of a task where reward-associated stimuli are never task-relevant, see Failing & Theeuwes, 2017).”
From Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention. (2018) · cites this paper as Stankevich & Geng, 2015
Cites
1 retracted
Guidance of spatial attention by incidental learning and endogenous cuing.
Jiang, Y. V., Swallow, K. M., & Rosenbaum, G. M. (2012) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/a0028022 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
RetractedPosner, M. I. (1980) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1080/00335558008248231 · Cited by 9,670 · see citing works
Bergum, B. O., Long, J. B., & Baddeley, A. (1982) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1422199 · Cited by 2,240 · see citing works
Klein, R. M. (2000) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01452-2 · Cited by 2,017 · see citing works
Neural correlates of decision variables in parietal cortex
Platt, M. L., & Glimcher, P. W. (1999) · Nature · doi:10.1038/22268 · Cited by 1,721 · see citing works
Top-down versus bottom-up attentional control: a failed theoretical dichotomy
Awh, E., Belopolsky, A. V., & Theeuwes, J. (2012) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.06.010 · Cited by 1,557 · see citing works
Müller, H. J., & Rabbitt, P. (1989) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037//0096-1523.15.2.315 · Cited by 1,445 · see citing works
Voluntary versus automatic control over the mind's eye's movement
Jonides, J. (1981) · Attention and performance · Cited by 1,341 · see citing works
VISUAL ATTENTION: Control, Representation, and Time Course
Egeth, H. E., & Yantis, S. (1997) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.269 · Cited by 1,267 · see citing works
Spatial filtering during visual search: Evidence from human electrophysiology.
Luck, S. J., & Hillyard, S. A. (1994) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/0096-1523.20.5.1000 · Cited by 1,122 · see citing works
Priming of pop-out: I. Role of features
Maljkovic, V., & Nakayama, K. (1994) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03209251 · Cited by 1,107 · see citing works
Value-driven attentional capture
Anderson, B. A., Laurent, P. A., & Yantis, S. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1104047108 · Cited by 1,098 · see citing works
Muller, H. J., & Rabbitt, P. (1989) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/0096-1523.15.2.315 · Cited by 843 · see citing works
Anticipatory affect: neural correlates and consequences for choice
Knutson, B. D., & Greer, S. M. (2008) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0155 · Cited by 689 · see citing works
Inhibitory tagging system facilitates visual search
Klein, R. M. (1988) · Nature · doi:10.1038/334430a0 · Cited by 615 · see citing works
Reward Changes Salience in Human Vision via the Anterior Cingulate
Hickey, C., Chelazzi, L., & Theeuwes, J. (2010) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1026-10.2010 · Cited by 606 · cited 6× · see citing works
“There is substantial evidence that reward-associated features produce rapid, stimulus-driven, attentional and oculomotor capture similar to that of typical bottom-up cues (Anderson & Yantis, 2012; Anderson, Laurent, & Yantis, 2011a, 2011b; Camara, Manohar, & Husain, 2013; Failing & Theeuwes, 2014; Hickey & van Zoest,…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialDorris, M. C., & Glimcher, P. W. (2004) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2004.09.009 · Cited by 428 · see citing works
Visual Selective Attention and the Effects of Monetary Rewards
Libera, C. D., & Chelazzi, L. (2006) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01689.x · Cited by 365 · see citing works
Spatial probability as an attentional cue in visual search
Geng, J. J., & Behrmann, M. (2005) · Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/bf03193557 · Cited by 342 · see citing works
Self-citationLearning to Attend and to Ignore Is a Matter of Gains and Losses
Della Libera, C., & Chelazzi, L. (2009) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02360.x · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Le Pelley, M. E., Pearson, D., Griffiths, O., & Beesley, T. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/xge0000037 · Cited by 327 · see citing works
O'Doherty, J. P., Buchanan, T. W., Seymour, B., & Dolan, R. J. (2006) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2005.11.014 · Cited by 322 · see citing works
Learned Value Magnifies Salience-Based Attentional Capture
Anderson, B. A., Laurent, P. A., & Yantis, S. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027926 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
Persistence of value-driven attentional capture.
Anderson, B. A., & Yantis, S. (2012) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/a0030860 · Cited by 273 · see citing works
Selective Visual Attention and Motivation
Raymond, J. E., & O’Brien, J. L. (2009) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02391.x · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Kiss, M., Driver, J., & Eimer, M. (2009) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02281.x · Cited by 267 · see citing works
Reward modulates attention independently of action value in posterior parietal cortex
Peck, C. J., Jangraw, D. C., Suzuki, M., Efem, R., & Gottlieb, J. (2009) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1929-09.2009 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Krebs, R. M., Boehler, C. N., Roberts, K. C., Song, A. W., & Woldorff, M. G. (2011) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhr134 · Cited by 213 · see citing works
Value-driven attentional and oculomotor capture during goal-directed, unconstrained viewing
Anderson, B. A., & Yantis, S. (2012) · Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-012-0348-2 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Reward creates oculomotor salience
Hickey, C., & van Zoest, W. (2012) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.02.007 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
The Neural Underpinnings of How Reward Associations Can Both Guide and Misguide Attention
Krebs, R. M., Boehler, C. N., Egner, T., & Woldorff, M. G. (2011) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0732-11.2011 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Kristjansson, A., Sigurjonsdottir, O., & Driver, J. (2010) · Attention, Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/app.72.5.1229 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Schevernels, H., Krebs, R. M., Santens, P., Woldorff, M. G., & Boehler, C. N. (2013) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.09.039 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Exogenous visual orienting by reward
Failing, M., & Theeuwes, J. (2014) · Journal of Vision · doi:10.1167/14.5.6 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Neural correlates of reward-driven attentional capture in visual search
Qi, S., Zeng, Q., Ding, C., & Li, H. (2013) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2013.07.044 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Krebs, R. M., Boehler, C. N., Appelbaum, L. G., & Woldorff, M. G. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053894 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Libera, C. D., Perlato, A., & Chelazzi, L. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019460 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Reward-associated stimuli capture the eyes in spite of strategic attentional set
Hickey, C., & van Zoest, W. (2013) · Vision Research · doi:10.1016/j.visres.2013.09.008 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
The Differential Effects of Reward on Space- and Object-Based Attentional Allocation
Lee, J., & Shomstein, S. (2013) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.5575-12.2013 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Reward associations and spatial probabilities produce additive effects on attentional selection
Stankevich, B. A., & Geng, J. J. (2014) · Attention Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-014-0720-5 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Self-citationPast rewards capture spatial attention and action choices
Càmara, E., Manohar, S., & Masud Husain, B. (2013) · Experimental Brain Research · doi:10.1007/s00221-013-3654-6 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Pelley, M. E. L., Mitchell, C. J., & Johnson, A. M. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037/a0031230 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 44 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The attention habit: how reward learning shapes attentional selection
Anderson, B. A. (2015) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/nyas.12957 · Cited by 406 · see citing works
Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention.
Failing, M., & Theeuwes, J. (2018) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-017-1380-y · Cited by 345 · see citing works
“For instance, Stankevich and Geng (2015) used a cueing paradigm to investigate whether changes in top-down knowledge about reward-associations leads to immediate changes in attentional prioritization toward them.”
BackgroundAttention and associative learning in humans: An integrative review.
Le Pelley, M. E., Mitchell, C. J., Beesley, T., George, D. N., & Wills, A. J. (2016) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000064 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
The past, present, and future of selection history
Anderson, B. A., Kim, H., Kim, A. J., Liao, M., Mrkonja, L., Clement, A., & Grégoire, L. (2021) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.004 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Appetitive and aversive outcome associations modulate exogenous cueing
Bucker, B., & Theeuwes, J. (2016) · Attention Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-016-1107-6 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Rewards modulate saccade latency but not exogenous spatial attention
Dunne, S., Ellison, A., & Smith, D. T. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01080 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Mixed signals: The effect of conflicting reward- and goal-driven biases on selective attention
Preciado, D. F., Munneke, J., & Theeuwes, J. (2017) · Attention Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-017-1322-9 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
The persistence of value-driven attention capture is task-dependent
Milner, A. E., MacLean, M. H., & Giesbrecht, B. (2023) · Attention Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-022-02621-0 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Clark, R., & Gilchrist, I. D. (2018) · Visual Cognition · doi:10.1080/13506285.2018.1543222 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Reward rapidly enhances visual perceptionPreprint
Cheng, P., Rich, A. N., & Pelley, M. E. L. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/qh6y5
Beffara, B., Flaudias, V., & Gonthier, C. (2026) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-026-02894-8
Retrospective attention suppresses reward-associated interference in visual working memory
Zhang, Y., Lei, S., Li, G., Hu, X., & Jinhong, D. I. N. G. (2026) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-026-02284-8
Prediction and Prioritisation: How Reward Learning Shapes Attentional Capture
Pelley, M. E. L. (2026) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1177/17470218261449808
Working memory can be impervious to value-based attentional bias and trial reward value
Shires, J., Rakhshan, M., Pablo, J. N., Soltani, A., & Berryhill, M. E. (2026) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658211.2026.2719612
- Authors
- Stankevich, B. A., & Geng, J. J.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Davis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Stankevich, Beth A.
- ORCID
- Geng, Joy J.
- Venue
- Visual Cognition
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2015-01-09
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 206-228
- ISSN
- 1350-6285 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-0716
- OpenAlex
- W2090651360
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 1.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Visual Cognition (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J020206/1)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/L000210/1)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Keywords
- attentional capture, top-down knowledge, value-driven attention, reward contingency, attentional bias, top-down modulation, bottom-up attention
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
