Overt spatial attention modulates multisensory selection
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Jensen, A.
Merz, S.
Spence, C.
Frings, C.
Abstract / Description
In daily life, signals from the different senses are often integrated in order to enhance multisensory perception. However, an important, yet currently still controversial, topic concerns the need for attention in this integration process. To investigate this question, we turned to the processing of multisensory distractors. Note that multisensory target processing is typically confounded with attention as people attend to the stimuli that they respond to. We therefore designed a multisensory flanker task in which the target and distractor stimuli were both multisensory and the congruency between the features (auditory and visual) was varied orthogonally. In addition, we manipulated whether distractor or target was within the focus of participants’ gaze (i.e., was overtly attended). Importantly, distractor congruency effects were modulated by this manipulation. Fixating the distractor led to crossmodal congruency effects between the visual and auditory feature dimensions (e.g., a visually incongruent distractor interfered more if it was also auditorily incongruent with the target), while congruency effects were independent of each other when the distractor was not fixated (i.e., visual interference was not modulated by auditory interference in this case). These results suggest that distractors outside the focus of overt attention are processed at the level of features whereas those distractors presented centrally (i.e., at fixation) are processed as a configuration of features. Taken together, these results can be taken to suggest that the multisensory integration of irrelevant stimuli depends on the focus of spatial attention.
Dataset for: Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2019). Overt spatial attention modulates multisensory selection. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 45(2), 174-188.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000595
Keyword(s)
Multisensory perception Multisensory selection distractor processing attention gazePersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2018
Publisher
ZPID (Leibniz Institute for Psychology Information)
Citation
Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2018). Overt spatial attention modulates multisensory selection [Data set]. ZPID (Leibniz Institute for Psychology Information). https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.908
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Codebook_ms_gaze.txtText - 20.32KBMD5: 6bbea4ebc4a50d3c8a5071791756afbdDescription: description of variables
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ms_gaze.csvCSV - 73.37KBMD5: 309141c142e38c944bb11934656005f3Description: data as csv-file
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ms_gaze.savSPSS data file - 69.02KBMD5: 7d3814ef9125a2d3df802cc894195447Description: data as SPSS-file
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Syntax_ms_gaze.spsSPSS syntax file - 17.04KBMD5: d5340a398fe749b80cf3b80bb13d2702Description: SPSS Syntax-file
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There are no other versions of this object.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Jensen, A.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Merz, S.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Spence, C.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Frings, C.
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-09-11T12:36:59Z
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Made available on2018-09-11T12:36:59Z
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Date of first publication2018
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Abstract / DescriptionIn daily life, signals from the different senses are often integrated in order to enhance multisensory perception. However, an important, yet currently still controversial, topic concerns the need for attention in this integration process. To investigate this question, we turned to the processing of multisensory distractors. Note that multisensory target processing is typically confounded with attention as people attend to the stimuli that they respond to. We therefore designed a multisensory flanker task in which the target and distractor stimuli were both multisensory and the congruency between the features (auditory and visual) was varied orthogonally. In addition, we manipulated whether distractor or target was within the focus of participants’ gaze (i.e., was overtly attended). Importantly, distractor congruency effects were modulated by this manipulation. Fixating the distractor led to crossmodal congruency effects between the visual and auditory feature dimensions (e.g., a visually incongruent distractor interfered more if it was also auditorily incongruent with the target), while congruency effects were independent of each other when the distractor was not fixated (i.e., visual interference was not modulated by auditory interference in this case). These results suggest that distractors outside the focus of overt attention are processed at the level of features whereas those distractors presented centrally (i.e., at fixation) are processed as a configuration of features. Taken together, these results can be taken to suggest that the multisensory integration of irrelevant stimuli depends on the focus of spatial attention.en_US
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Abstract / DescriptionDataset for: Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2019). Overt spatial attention modulates multisensory selection. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 45(2), 174-188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000595
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationJensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2018). Overt spatial attention modulates multisensory selection [Data set]. ZPID (Leibniz Institute for Psychology Information). https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.908en
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/707
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.908
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Language of contentengen_US
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PublisherZPID (Leibniz Institute for Psychology Information)en_US
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Is related tohttps://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000595
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Keyword(s)Multisensory perceptionen_US
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Keyword(s)Multisensory selectionen_US
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Keyword(s)distractor processingen_US
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Keyword(s)attentionen_US
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Keyword(s)gazeen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleOvert spatial attention modulates multisensory selectionen_US
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DRO typeresearchDataen_US