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Abstract:
Abstract: A classic finding in the area of visual selective
attention is that response time to a recently ignored stimulus is
delayed relative to a control condition. Although this negative
priming effect appears to be a robust phenomenon, its
interpretation has engendered considerable controversy, with some
researchers favoring an explanation based on inhibition and others
favoring an explanation based on episodic retrieval (cf., Neill
& Valdes, 1992). The present study examines negative priming
using a protocol that is amenable to the collection of
electrophysiological data. Participants made simple yes-no
judgments as to whether the attended object in a probe display was
the same as the attended object in a prime display. The usual
behavioral effects were obtained: responses were faster for
previously attended targets than for targets that did not appear in
the prime display (controls), but responses were slower for
previously ignored targets relative to controls. Facilitative
priming was associated with increased positivity in the ERP
waveform 300 to 450 ms after the offset of the probe stimulus, but
negative priming was associated with reduced positivity within the
same time window. We discuss possible uses of this
electrophysiological correlate of negative priming as a tool for
examining theoretical interpretations of this effect as well as
other phenomena for which inhibition has been offered as an
explanation.
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