Four experiments examined the effects of uninformative spatial auditory precues
on auditory detection latencies when the decision to respond was based on either spatial or
non-spatial criteria. The first experiment used a new technique, called implicit
localization, in which observers responded to peripheral targets and refrained from
responding to central targets. Response times were initially faster for targets at the cued
location than at a contralateral location, suggesting that attention was captured at the
spatial position of the cue. This facilitatory effect diminished and even reversed at longer
cue-target onset asynchonies (CTOAs), indicating that inhibition of return (IOR) also
occurs in audition. These effects were not observed in later experiments when the go/no-go
decision was based on target presence (Experiments 2 and 3) or target frequency
(Experiment 4). These data indicate that the facilitatory and inhibitory components of
covert spatial orienting occur in audition only when spatial information is relevant to the
task. They may also provide the first clear evidence of IOR in audition. These findings
suggest that implicit localization provides a powerful technique for studying covert spatial
attention. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/6009 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | McDonald, John J. |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 2250824 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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