Attention Can Retrospectively Distort Visual Space

• Published in: Psychological science Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 472 - 477
• Main Authors: Ono, Fuminori, Watanabe, Katsumi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2011; Sage Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Attention; Biological and medical sciences; Circles; Cues; Distance Perception; Experimentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geodetic position; Human biology; Humans; Landmarks; Localization; Mental stimulation; Perception; Perceptual distortion; Perceptual localization; Photic Stimulation; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Research Report; Sight; Space Perception; Stimulus; Trials; Vision; Visual attention; Visual perception; Visual space; Visual stimulation; Visual task performance; localization; attention; visual space; Human; Stimulus localization; Vision; Perception; Cognition; Space perception; Experimental study; Visual attention
• ISSN: 0956-7976; 1467-9280
• DOI: 10.1177/0956797611403319

A brief visual cue that attracts attention repels the perceived location of a subsequent visual stimulus away from the focus of attention (attentional repulsion). In the first experiment reported here, we presented a visual cue after a visual target and found that the perceived location of the target stimulus shifted toward the location of the cue (attentional attraction). The subsequent experiments ruled out nonattentional hypotheses and indicated that the mislocalization effect is attributable to the attentional shift. The results of this study suggest that preceding and succeeding contexts differentially modulate the perceived location of a briefly presented stimulus. Our findings also underscore the importance of retrospective processes in visual attention.