Abrupt onsets and gaze direction cues trigger independent reflexive attentional effects

Abstract

The present study investigated whether the detection of visual signals is influenced independently by two automatic visual orienting phenomena: orienting to a gazed-at location and inhibition of return (IOR) to the location of an abrupt onset. A schematic face served as both a nonpredictive gaze direction cue and an abrupt onset cue. Results indicated that target detection was facilitated at the gazed-at location, and that it was inhibited at the abrupt onset location. Importantly, these two different reflexive attention effects were triggered by the same event and exhibited overlapping time courses. Moreover, the IOR effect did not vary as a function of the facilitatory effect of gaze. These findings strongly suggest that reflexive attention to gaze direction and reflexive inhibition to an abrupt onset are independent processes, and that gaze direction does not produce IOR at the gazed-at location.