Abstract
It is well accepted that attention can be facilitated when the feature of an upcoming target is known, but results on whether prior knowledge about distractors enhances visual search are mixed. In the present study, we aimed to replicate the beneficial effects of negative templates in the difficult search condition. To do so, we used symbol cues to indicate the color of the target or distractor. We also included a neutral cue as a control condition. Task difficulty was manipulated by increasing the set size of the target/distractor colors (from 2 to 4). Our results showed a general increase in RT with increasing the colored set size, indicating a successful manipulation of task difficulty. In addition, positive cues led to benefits compared to neutral cues in both easy and difficult search conditions, which was consistent with previous literature. However, no beneficial effects of negative cues were found in the easy or difficult search condition. Analysis of individual data further showed that participants’ search strategies were less consistent in the difficult search condition. These findings suggest that the intention to use negative cues in the difficult search condition may vary from person to person.