Selective reaching: evidence for action-centered attention.

Abstract

Most studies of selective attention briefly present static 2-dimensional stimuli and require arbitrary responses such as verbal naming or a keypress. Many of our perceptual-motor interactions with the environment, however, require reaching directly toward an object while ignoring other objects in the scene. A series of experiments examines selective attention in the latter reaching situation. Effects previously observed in the traditional experimental procedures were obtained, suggesting that the models developed (which propose inhibitory mechanisms, e.g.) apply to ecologically valid situations. Attention accesses action-centered internal representations during such tasks.