Capture of attention by target-similar cues during dual-color search reflects reactive control among top-down selected attentional control settings.

Abstract

We investigated the origin of attention capture in the contingent-capture protocol during a search for two colors. When searching for the target color, cues similar to the target capture attention but cues dissimilar to the target do not capture attention. The results are typically explained by top-down contingent capture, a form of proactive control where participants set up attentional control settings (ACSs) for the target and cues matching the ACSs capture attention. However, based on recent research, we hypothesized that the situation could be more complicated during search for several features. Here, reactive control in the form of (cue) color-elicited selection of one of several separate pre-activated ACSs, one for each single searched-for feature, could contribute to performance. With the help of mixing and switch costs, we demonstrated that participants searched for two colors by separate pre-activated ACSs, and a closer inspection of the capture effects of the cues confirmed that reactive control contributed to ACS selection.