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Flanker interference effects in a line bisection task

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Abstract

Previous studies have shown that flanking distractors influence line bisection. In the present study, we examined if reaching the flanker after bisecting the line resulted in a variation of flanker interference on line bisection. Right- and left-handed participants were asked to bisect a horizontal line flanked by a dot (bisection task, B-task) or to bisect the line and then to reach the dot (bisection plus reaching task, BR-task). The dot was placed laterally to, and above or below, the line edge. The results showed that in both tasks the subjective midpoint was shifted away from the position of the dot. However, this effect was greater in the BR-task than in the B-task. We suggest that the requirement to perform an action to the flanker in the BR-task induced participants to pay more attention to the dot, enhancing its salience and distorting effects on line bisection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy

    Sergio Chieffi, Giovanni Messina & Marcellino Monda

  2. Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy

    Tina Iachini

  3. Neurological and Stroke Unit, CTO Hospital, AORN “Ospedali dei Colli”, Naples, Italy

    Alessandro Iavarone

  4. Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy

    Andrea Viggiano

Authors
  1. Sergio Chieffi
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  2. Tina Iachini
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  3. Alessandro Iavarone
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  4. Giovanni Messina
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  5. Andrea Viggiano
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  6. Marcellino Monda
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Correspondence to Sergio Chieffi.

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Chieffi, S., Iachini, T., Iavarone, A. et al. Flanker interference effects in a line bisection task. Exp Brain Res 232, 1327–1334 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-014-3851-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-014-3851-y

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