ForsterLavieJEPapplied.pdf (147.38 kB)
Failures to ignore entirely irrelevant distractors: the role of load
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 15:21 authored by Sophie ForsterSophie Forster, Nilli LavieIn daily life (e.g., in the work environment) people are often distracted by stimuli that are clearly irrelevant to the current task and should be ignored. In contrast, much applied distraction research has focused on task interruptions by information that requires a response and therefore cannot be ignored. Moreover, the most commonly used laboratory measures of distractibility (e.g., in the response-competition and attentional-capture paradigms), typically involve distractors that are task relevant (e.g., through response associations or location). A series of experiments assessed interference effects from stimuli that are entirely unrelated to the current task, comparing the effects of perceptual load on task-irrelevant and task-relevant (response competing) distractors. The results showed that an entirely irrelevant distractor can interfere with task performance to the same extent as a response-competing distractor and that, as with other types of distractors, the interfering effects of the irrelevant distractors can be eliminated with high perceptual load in the relevant task. These findings establish a new laboratory measure of a form of distractibility common to everyday life and highlight load as an important determinant of such distractibility.
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Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Journal of Experimental Psychology: AppliedISSN
1076-898XPublisher
American Psychological AssociationExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
14Page range
73-83Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2013-07-09First Open Access (FOA) Date
2016-03-22First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2016-11-17Usage metrics
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