Abstract
Event-related potentials (ERPs) to hierarchical stimuli have been compared for global/local target trials, but the pattern of results across studies is mixed with respect to understanding how ERPs differ with local and global bias. There are reliable interindividual differences in attentional breadth biases. This study addresses two questions. Can these interindividual differences in attentional breadth be predicted by interindividual ERP differences to hierarchical stimuli? Can attentional breadth changes over time within participants (i.e., intraindividual differences) be predicted by ERPs changes over time when viewing hierarchical stimuli? Here, we estimated attentional breadth and isolated ERPs in response to Navon letter stimuli presented at two time points. We found that interindividual differences in ERPs at Time 1 did not predict attentional breadth differences across individuals at Time 1. However, individual differences in changes to P1, N1, and P3 ERPs to hierarchical stimuli from Time 1 to Time 2 were associated with individual differences in changes in attentional breadth from Time 1 to Time 2. These results suggest that attentional breadth changes within individuals over time are reflected in changes in ERP responses to hierarchical stimuli such that smaller N1s and larger P3s accompany a shift to processing the newly prioritized level, suggesting that the preferred level required less perceptual processing and elicited more attention.
Highlights
Visual attention can be allocated to the entirety of a visual stimulus, or to its smaller details
Greater attentional breadth is defined as a greater attentional focus on the Individual Differences in Attentional Breadth global level suggesting that visual attention is more broad and diffuse, whereas greater attentional focus on the local level suggests that visual attention is more narrowed and attentional breadth is decreased
We were mainly interested in examining Event-related potentials (ERPs) related with attentional and perceptual processing and which have been examined in previous research with global/local processing, so we focused on sites in the parieto-occipital region (P3, PZ, P4, O1, OZ, and O2) since the effects of global/local processing on ERPs have been consistently found using those sites (Johnson et al, 2005; Beaucousin et al, 2011, 2013; Leek et al, 2016)
Summary
Visual attention can be allocated to the entirety of a visual stimulus, or to its smaller details. Hierarchical Navon (1977) letters, such as the one presented, can be perceived at the global level as a large F, or at the local level as multiple smaller H’s. Stimuli such as these are often used to measure whether individuals are more attuned to the bigger picture (forest) or to the smaller details (the trees). One way to measure attentional breadth with such stimuli is to present only incongruent stimuli where one of two target letters (e.g., T or H) appears randomly at one level, while the other level contains one of two non-target letters (e.g., F or L). Greater attentional breadth is defined as a greater attentional focus on the Individual Differences in Attentional Breadth global level suggesting that visual attention is more broad and diffuse, whereas greater attentional focus on the local level suggests that visual attention is more narrowed and attentional breadth is decreased
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