Individual differences in the attentional blink: The temporal profile of large versus small blinkers C Willems1, S Wierda1, E L van Viegen2, S Martens1 |
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1Dept. of Neuroscience, Neuroimaging Center, UMCG, University of Groningen, Netherlands |
| When two targets are presented in close temporal succession, the majority of people frequently fail to report the second target. This ‘attentional blink’ (AB) is informative about the rate at which stimuli can be perceived consciously and is generally considered to reflect a fundamental restriction in selective attention. However, as previously demonstrated, there are strong individual differences in the magnitude of the AB. In the current study, we directly tested the properties of temporal selection by analysing response errors, allowing us to uncover individual differences in suppression, delay, and diffusion of selective attention across time. In addition, we determined whether the individual ability to avoid an AB comes at a cost of temporal order information. We found that the largest blinkers showed only a modest amount of suppression during the AB. Individuals with a small AB showed no suppression, were more precise in selecting the second target, and made fewer order reversals. However, when the second target immediately followed the first target (at lag 1), the latter group made relatively more response errors and showed a selection delay; possibly a consequence of a relatively faster and more precise target selection process. |
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