Attentional priming in hierarchical visual patterns: Effects of attended level, absolute size and congruency
Abstract
Previous studies on the visual processing of hierarchical stimuli showed that responses to targets presented either in the local or in the global level were faster when the target was presented at the same hierarchical level as the previous trial (sequential priming effect). In the present work, a new attentional priming paradigm was developed in order to explore this sequential effect by means of a within-trial design. For this purpose, two experiments were conducted manipulating attention (selective vs divided), congruency and stimulus size. Results suggested that the main factor underlying the sequential priming effect was the hierarchical level attended, at least in a selective attention task (Experiment 1). In addition, the stimulus size modulated the sequential priming effect in a divided attention task (Experiment 2). Interestingly, the sequential priming effect was only reliable when incongruent stimuli were presented.
Keywords: Priming, selective attention, divided attention, hierarchical stimuli, global/local processing.
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References
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