Rewarded visual items capture attention only in heterogeneous contexts
Abstract
Reward is known to affect visual search performance. Rewarding targets can increase search performance, whereas rewarding distractors can decrease search performance. We used subcomponents of the N2pc in the event‐related EEG, the N T (target negativity) and N D/P D (distractor negativity/positivity), in a visual search task to disentangle target and distractor processing related to reward. The visual search task comprised homogeneous and heterogeneous contexts in which a target and a colored distractor were embedded. After each correct trial, participants were given a monetary reward that depended on the color of the distractor. We found longer response times for displays with high‐reward distractors compared to displays with low‐reward distractors, indicating reward‐induced interference, however, only for heterogeneous contexts. The N T component, indicative of attention deployment to the target, showed that target selection was impaired by high‐reward distractors, regardless of the context homogeneity. Processing of distractors was not affected by reward in homogeneous contexts. In heterogeneous contexts, however, high‐reward distractors were more likely to capture attention (N D) and required more effort to be suppressed (P D) than low‐reward distractors. In sum the results showed that, despite the fact that target selection is impaired by high‐reward distractors in both homogeneous and heterogeneous background contexts, high‐reward distractors capture attention only in scenarios that foster attentional capture.
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Greater activation of a reward-associated stimulus, indexed by a larger N2pc, is quickly followed by a suppression in the visual response to it.
“greater activation of a reward-associated stimulus, indexed by a larger N2pc, was quickly followed by a suppression in the visual response to it (Hickey et al., 2010a; see also Qi et al., 2013; Feldmann-Wüstefeld, Brandhofer, & Schubö, 2016).”
From Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention. (2018) · cites this paper as Feldmann-Wüstefeld, Brandhofer, & Schubö, 2016
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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
- Authors
- Feldmann‐Wüstefeld, T., Brandhofer, R., & Schubö, A.
- Affiliations
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Feldmann‐Wüstefeld, Tobias
- Venue
- Psychophysiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-03-21
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1063-1073
- ISSN
- 0048-5772 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8986
- OpenAlex
- W2304742594
- Cited by
- 49
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 3.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychophysiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation; SFB/TRR 135, TP B3)
- 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
- reward, visual search, attentional capture, N2pc, distractor processing, attentional suppression, monetary rewards, event-related potentials
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Attention, Cerebral Cortex, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Female, Humans, Male, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Photic Stimulation, Reaction Time, Reward, Visual Perception, Young Adult
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