Citation

Zhao S, Uono S, Yoshimura S, Toichi M. Acta Psychol. 2014; 150C: 100-105.

Affiliation

School of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Organization for Promoting Developmental Disorder Research, Kyoto, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.actpsy.2014.05.003

PMID

24866453

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the difference in non-predictive cues between gaze and arrows in attention orienting. Attention orienting was investigated with gaze or arrows as separate cues in a simple condition (i.e., block design) in Experiment 1 and in an unpredictable condition (i.e., randomized design) in Experiment 2. Two kinds of sound (voice and tone) stimuli were used as targets.

RESULTS showed that gaze and arrow cues induced enhanced attention orienting to a voice versus tone target in the block condition. However, in the randomized condition, enhanced attention orienting to a voice versus tone target was found in gaze but not arrow cues. The congruency of the meaning between a social cue (i.e., gaze) and a social target (i.e., voice) was clear in the randomized but not blocked design, because social gaze and non-social arrow cues were implemented in the same block. Thus, attention orienting might be mediated by the associated relationship of cue-target in a randomized condition, as an enhanced orienting effect was found when the associated relationship of cue-target was strong (i.e., social cue and target). The present study suggests that the difference in attention orienting between gaze and arrows is apparent in a randomized design (the unpredictable condition), and people employ a flexibly strategy of orienting to better respond to environmental changes.

Language: en