Abstract
Localization tasks that utilize a cue-target paradigm often produce faster RT at the SOA of 100 ms during valid trials in which target appears at the location indicated by the cue compared to invalid trials in which the target appears at a different location than indicated by the cue. This effect is known as facilitation. However, at the SOA of 300 ms, inhibition of return (IOR) is observed where invalid trials produce faster RT than valid trials. Discrimination tasks also produce the facilitation effect at the SOA of 100 ms, but produce a delayed onset of IOR appearing at the SOA of 700 ms. Our goal is to see whether processing of the cue accelerates the onset of IOR in discrimination tasks. Two white hollow rectangles (1.62째 x 1.33째) were presented to the right and left of the fixation cross (retinal eccentricity of 7.31째). One of the two rectangles changed color (to red or green) which served as the cue. Following SOAs of 100, 300, or 1000 ms, the target (a blue or yellow circle) appeared inside one of the two rectangles. Participants performed the discrimination tasks of the target color with three conditions: one condition did not require any processing of the cue, a second condition required the participants to identify the color of the cue, and the last condition required the participants to identify the location of the cue. The results showed facilitation at the SOA of 100 ms and IOR at the SOA of 1000 ms when the participants did not need to process the cue, confirming former findings. Facilitation was also seen at the SOA of 300 ms when the participants identified the location of the cue. However, processing of the cue color or location did not lead to an advanced onset of IOR.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2014