Abstract
Subjects were presented with briefly exposed visual displays of words that were common first names with a length of four to six letters. In the main experiment, each display consisted of four words: two names shown in red and two shown in white. The subject’s task was to report the red names (targets), but ignore the white ones (distractors). On some trials the subject’s own name appeared as a display item (target or distractor). Presentation of the subject’s name as a distractor caused no more interference with report of targets than did presentation of other names as distractors. Apparently, visual attention was not automatically attracted by the subject’s own name.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allport, D. A. (1977). On knowing the meaning of words we are unable to report: The effects of visual masking. In S. Dornic (Ed.),Attention and performance VI (pp. 505–534). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Broadbent, D. E. (1958).Perception and communication. London: Pergamon.
Bundesen, C. (1987). Visual attention: Race models for selection from multielement displays.Psychological Research,49, 113–121.
Bundesen, C. (1990). A theory of visual attention.Psychological Review,97, 523–547.
Bundesen, C. (1993). The relationship between independent race models and Luce’s choice axiom.Journal of Mathematical Psychology,37, 446–471.
Bundesen, C., Pedersen, L. F., &Larsen, A. (1984). Measuring efficiency of selection from briefly exposed visual displays: A model for partial report.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,10, 329–339.
Bundesen, C., Shibuya, H., &Larsen, A. (1985). Visual selection from multielement displays: A model for partial report. In M. I. Posner & O. S. M. Marin (Eds.),Attention and performance XI (pp. 631–649). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Christie, J., &Klein, R. (1995). Familiarity and attention: Does what we know affect what we notice?Memory & Cognition,23, 547–550.
Czerwinski, M., Lightfoot, N., &Shiffrin, R. M. (1992). Automatization and training in visual search.American Journal of Psychology,105, 271–315.
Deutsch, J. A., &Deutsch, D. (1963). Attention: Some theoretical considerations.Psychological Review,70, 80–90.
Duncan, J. (1980). The locus of interference in the perception of simultaneous stimuli.Psychological Review,87, 272–300.
Duncan, J. (1985). Visual search and visual attention. In M. I. Posner & O. S. M. Marin (Eds.),Attention and performance XI (pp. 85–105). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Folk, C. L., &Remington, R. W. (1996). When knowledge does not help: Limitations on the flexibility of attentional control. In A. F. Kramer, M. G. H. Coles, & G. D. Logan (Eds.),Converging operations in the study of visual selective attention (pp. 271–295). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Hoffman, J. E. (1978). Search through a sequentially presented visual display.Perception & Psychophysics,23, 1–11.
Johnston, W. A., Hawley, K. J., &Farnham, J. M. (1993). Novel popout: Empirical boundaries and tentative theory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,19, 140–153.
Kahneman, D., &Treisman, A. (1984). Changing views of attention and automaticity. In R. Parasuraman & D. R. Davies (Eds.),Varieties of attention (pp. 29–61). New York: Academic Press.
LaBerge, D., &Brown, V. (1989). Theory of attentional operations in shape identification.Psychological Review,96, 101–124.
Logan, G. D. (1992). Attention and preattention in theories of automaticity.American Journal of Psychology,105, 317–339.
Moray, N. (1959). Attention in dichotic listening: Affective cues and the influence of instructions.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,11, 56–60.
Moray, N. (1969).Attention: Selective processes in vision and hearing. London: Hutchinson.
Norman, D. A. (1968). Toward a theory of memory and attention.Psychological Review,75, 522–536.
Schneider, W. (1985). Toward a model of attention and the development of automatic processing. In M. I. Posner & O. S. M. Marin (Eds.),Attention and performance XI (pp. 475–492). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Schneider, W., Dumais, S. T., &Shiffrin, R. M. (1984). Automatic and control processing and attention. In R. Parasuraman & D. R. Davies (Eds.),Varieties of attention (pp. 1–27). New York: Academic Press.
Schneider, W., &Shiffrin, R. M. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: I. Detection, search, and attention.Psychological Review,84, 1–66.
Shibuya, H. (1993). Efficiency of visual selection in duplex and conjunction conditions in partial report.Perception & Psychophysics,54, 716–732.
Shibuya, H., &Bundesen, C. (1988). Visual selection from multielement displays: Measuring and modeling effects of exposure duration.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,14, 591–600.
Shiffrin, R. M., &Czerwinski, M. P. (1988). A model of automatic attention attraction when mapping is partially consistent.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,14, 562–569.
Shiffrin, R. M., &Dumais, S. T. (1981). The development of automatism. In J. R. Anderson (Ed.),Cognitive skills and their acquisition (pp. 111–140). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shiffrin, R. M., Dumais, S. T., &Schneider, W. (1981). Characteristics of automatism. In J. Long & A. [D.] Baddeley (Eds.),Attention and performance IX (pp. 223–238). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shiffrin, R. M., &Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory.Psychological Review,84, 127–190.
Theeuwes, J. (1995). Temporal and spatial characteristics of preattentive and attentive processing.Visual Cognition,2, 221–233.
Theeuwes, J. (1996). Perceptual selectivity for color and form: On the nature of the interference effect. In A. F. Kramer, M. G. H. Coles, & G. D. Logan (Eds.),Converging operations in the study of visual selective attention (pp. 297–314). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Treisman, A. M., &Gelade, G. (1980). A feature-integration theory of attention.Cognitive Psychology,12, 97–136.
van der Heijden, A. H. C. (1981).Short-term visual information forgetting. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
van der Heijden, A. H. C. (1992).Selective attention in vision. London: Routledge.
van der Heijden, A. H. C. (1993). The role of position in object selection in vision.Psychological Research,56, 44–58.
Winer, B. J. (1971).Statistical principles in experimental design (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Yantis, S. (1993). Stimulus-driven attentional capture.Current Directions in Psychological Science,2, 156–161.
Yantis, S. (1996). Attentional capture in vision. In A. F. Kramer, M. G. H. Coles, & G. D. Logan (Eds.),Converging operations in the study of visual selective attention (pp. 45–76). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by a grant from the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bundesen, C., Kyllingsbaek, S., Houmann, K.J. et al. Is visual attention automatically attracted by one’s own name?. Perception & Psychophysics 59, 714–720 (1997). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206017
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206017