Abstract
Foreknowledge of distractor features can lead to more efficient visual search through negative templates, but large interindividual differences exist in the size of negative template benefits. The cognitive factors underlying these individual differences remain unknown. Previous research suggests differences in proactive control for negative templates vs. positive templates. We hypothesized that inter-individual differences in proactive control efficiency may explain the large variability in benefits induced by negative cues. We analyzed the data of 138 participants engaged on a cued-visual search task, with eye-movements recorded in 36 of them. RT variability was used as a measure of individuals’ proactive control. Individuals with higher proactive control efficiency (lower standard deviation of reaction times) exhibited higher benefits after negative cues in two measures. Individuals with higher proactive control showed larger RT benefits following negative compared to neutral cues (r = -.27, p = 0.002). Similarly, individuals with higher proactive control directed fewer first saccades to the cued distractor items (r = .40, p = 0.018). No such relationship was observed for positive cues. These results suggest that individuals with the highest proactive control efficiency showed the strongest RT benefits following negative cues, and a higher ability to direct their overt attention away from the distractor items. Importantly, this work indicates that utilization of negative templates depends upon proactive control. Our results confirmed the existence of large interindividual differences in the benefits induced by negative attentional templates. Critically, we show that proactive control drives these inter-individual differences in negative template use.