Can Subliminal Flicker Guide Attention in Natural Images?
Victor A. Mateescu, Ivan V. Bajić · 2014
Subliminal flicker has been shown to draw attention in reaction time tasks with simple synthetic stimuli. The applicability of these findings to attention retargeting in multimedia remains in question because it is uncertain whether the same effects will be observed in complex natural stimuli. In this preliminary study, we alternate the contrast from high to low at a frequency of 50 Hz within selected regions in a set of natural images. Eye-tracking data is collected on a group of participants that viewed the flickering images and another group that viewed the original static images. A subsequent localization task is used to determine whether the flicker was truly subliminal. A comparison of the eye-tracking data between the two groups indicates that subliminal flicker may, on average, repel attention rather than attract it.