Sensory enhancement theory of object-based attention
The sensory enhancement theory assumes that attentional resources will spread until they reach the boundaries of a cued object [1], including regions that may be obstructed or are overlapping other objects [2] [3]. It has been suggested that sensory enhancement is an essential mechanism that underlies object-based attention [4]. The sensory enhancement theory of object based attention proposes that when attention is directed to a cued object, the quality of the object’s physical representations improve [5] [6] [7] because the spread of attention facilitates the efficacy of processing the features of the object as a whole. The qualities of the cued object, such as spatial resolution and contrast sensitivity, are therefore more strongly represented in one’s memory than the qualities of other objects or locations that received little or no attentional resource [8]. Information processing of these objects also tends to be significantly faster and more accurate as the representations are have been more saliently developed [9].
References
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- ^ Haimson, C., & Behrmann, M. (2001). Cued attention does not distinguish between occluded and occluding objects. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 8, 496-503
- ^ Moore, C. M., & Fulton, C. (2005). The spreading of attention to hidden portions of occluded surfaces. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 12, 301-306.
- ^ Chen, Z. (In press). Object-based attention: A tutorial review. Perception, & Psychophysics.
- ^ Chen, Z., & Cave, K. (2008). Object-based attention with endogenous cuing and positional certainty, Perception & Psychophysics, 70, 1435-1443.
- ^ Ho, M. C., & Atchley, P. (2009). Perceptual load modulates object-based attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35,1661-1669.
- ^ Richard, A. M., Lee, H., & Vecera, S.P. (2008). Attentional spreading in object-based attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 34, 842-853.
- ^ Carrasco, M., & Yeshurun, Y. (2009). Covert attention effects on spatial attention. In N. Srinivasan (Ed.), Progress in brain research: vol. 176, attention (pp. 65-86). The Netherlands: Elsevier.
- ^ Ho, C. M. (In press). Object-based attention: Sensory enhancement or scanning priorizatation. Acta Psychologica.