First target timing influences the attentional blink under low, but not high working memory load.

Abstract

A growing literature posits attention as a core component of working memory (Baddeley, European Psychologist, 7(2), 85-97, 2002), yet research exploring this relationship is scarce in the temporal attention domain. The present research provided further evidence that the magnitude of the attentional blink (AB) can be influenced by working memory load (WML; Akyürek et al., Memory & Cognition 35, 621-627, 2007). Additionally, we behaviorally tested Akyürek and colleagues' (Psychophysiology, 47(6), 1134-1141, 2010) conclusion that working memory influences attention at an early stage by systematically manipulating the timing of the first target in relation to the stimuli preceding and following it. In two experiments, we demonstrated that the AB effect increases as the temporal interval between the first target and the stimulus following it decreases. Importantly, this effect was observed only when WML was low, indicating that WM influences attending to a second target at an early stage of attentional processing.