Attention is captured by distractors that uniquely correspond to controlled objects: An analysis of movement trajectories

Abstract

When reaching for a particular target, movements tend to deviate toward distractors. Previously, we have shown that cursor movements deviate to a greater degree toward distractors when the distractor color corresponds to that of the cursor and the target color does not, even when this relationship is task-irrelevant (Miles & Proctor, 2011). In the present study, we investigated whether this correspondence effect is due to attention capture or to the activation of responses based on the task response rules associated with the colors of the distractor and target (viz. a flanker effect). Participants moved a central rectangular cursor to an upper left or upper right location, depending on the cursor color. The colors of the target (correct response side) and distractor (incorrect response side) were independent from one another and were either corresponding or noncorresponding with respect to the cursor color. In Experiment 1, reaction times were delayed when the distractor color corresponded to that of the cursor, but only when the target color did not correspond to the cursor color. No color correspondence effect was found for movement trajectories or movement times. However, in Experiment 2, when responses were time-pressured, initial movements toward the distractor were much more common when the distractor color exclusively corresponded to the cursor color. On the basis of these results, we argue that attention capture best explains the increased tendency to move a controlled object to a distractor that uniquely shares its features.