Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance
-
The authors studied the role of attention as a selection mechanism in implicit learning by examining the effect on primary sequence learning of performing a demanding target-selection task. Participants were trained on probabilistic sequences in a novel version of the serial reaction time (SRT) task, with dual- and triple-stimulus participants having to ignore irrelevant items in the SRT display. ⋯ These findings suggest that implicit sequence learning is resistant to disruption of the selection process. Results are discussed in terms of a componential model of attention and in relation to the implicit-explicit distinction.
-
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform · Apr 2006
The effect of items in working memory on the deployment of attention and the eyes during visual search.
Paying attention to an object facilitates its storage in working memory. The authors investigate whether the opposite is also true: whether items in working memory influence the deployment of attention. Participants performed a search for a prespecified target while they held another item in working memory. ⋯ In the absence of the target, however, there is a small but significant effect of the memory item on search time. The authors conclude that the target for visual search has a special status in working memory that allows it to guide attention. Guidance of attention by other items in working memory is much weaker and can be observed only if the search target is not present in the display.