Spatiotemporal expectations of apparent motion and the effect of attentional control

Abstract

An experimental investigation was conducted on whether and how temporal expectation influences visual processing in moving objects, while also considering the role of attention control. Data on reaction times were collected as outcome measures from two behavioural experiments. In experiment 1, participants (n = 36) were asked to monitor the movement of an object until its disappearance and respond quickly when it reappeared. The trajectory of an object before its disappearance generates expectations regarding the position and/or timing of its subsequent reappearance. Results revealed that all states of expectation significantly shortened reaction times compared with no expectation. In experiment 2, participants (n = 34) performed the same reaction time task while simultaneously engaging in a working memory task, which comprised memorising a string of characters. Results indicated that there is no difference in reaction times between the only temporal expectation and no expectation. Taken together, these results provide evidence to suggest that participants could predict the location and/or timing of target onset based on rhythmic moving objects, and that a secondary cognitive task impaired temporal expectation. These findings support the temporal expectation hypothesis regarding moving objects requiring attentional control resources.