The Effects of Attentional Capture in Apparent Motion
Priyanka Komandur · 2010
Apparent motion refers to how the discontinuous presentation of the same display in different instances in time, with slight shifts in position, can appear as moving. How attention is captured during this apparent motion can be explained in terms of space-based and object-based attention theories. Space-based attention theories claim that attention is allocated to a location in space, while object-based attention theories claim that attention is allocated to objects rather than a spatial location. Previous research has not yet considered whether attention follows the apparent motion of an object, or whether this perceived motion disrupts the organisation of attention altogether. Fifty-eight university students undertook the current study involving three experiments, where an apparent motion display known as the Ternus display was presented to them on a computer screen. The display consisted of two flashing discs (or figure eights), one of which was randomly cued during the presentation. Participants were asked to respond to one of two possible targets that randomly appeared within one of the discs (or figure eights), either cued or uncued and their response times were measured. Experiment one found results to support that of object-based theory predictions. Experiment three found a trend in the direction of objectbased theory predictions. Further implications are discussed on the importance of perceptual organisation of attention and the visual system and how they interact in everyday activities involving motion.