Several studies indicate that attention to the left visual field (LVF) requires neural resources distinct from those mediating attention to the right visual field (RVF; Alvarez & Cavanagh,
2005; Alvarez, Gill, & Cavanagh,
2012; Chakravarthi & Cavanagh,
2009; Delvenne, Castronovo, Demeyere, & Humphreys,
2011; Reardon, Kelly, & Matthews
2009; Shipp,
2011). This independence becomes even more evident with experiments revealing significantly greater LVF than RVF performance on time-sensitive attentional tasks. For example, salient LVF advantages occur on rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) tasks that require participants to select from distractor streams targeted letters, shapes, or faces (Asanowicz, Śmigasiewicz, & Verleger,
2013; Holländer, Corballis, & Hamm,
2005; Scalf, Banich, Kramer, Narechania, & Simon,
2007; Śmigasiewicz et al.,
2010; Verleger, Dittmer, & Śmigasiewicz,
2013; Verleger et al.,
2009; Verleger et al.,
2010; Verleger, Śmigasiewicz, & Möller,
2011). Along these lines, the motivation for the present study comes most directly from recent divided-attention experiments demonstrating significantly more precise LVF than RVF simultaneity judgments (SJs; J. G. Kelly & Matthews,
2011; Matthews, Vawter, & Kelly,
2012). SJs share computational similarities with temporal order judgments (TOJs), which share computational similarities with motion perception. We describe these similarities and their relationship to LVF attentional advantages in turn.