[en] Previous studies that investigated the ability of high priority stimuli to grab attention reported contradictory results. In the present study, eye tracking was used to examine the effect of the presence of the self-face among unfamiliar faces in a visual search task in which face identity was task-irrelevant. We evaluated whether the self-face (i) received prioritized selection, (ii) retained attention, and (iii) whether its status as target or distractor had a differential effect. Another highly familiar face was included to control whether possible effects were specific to the self-face or could be explained by high familiarity. We found that the presence of the self-face affected performance on the search task. This was not due to a prioritized processing but rather to a difficulty to disengage attention. Crucially, this effect seemed due to self-face familiarity. Indeed, similar results were obtained with the other familiar face. Moreover, the effect of the self-face was stronger when it was presented as the target than when it was a distractor.
Disciplines :
Theoretical & cognitive psychology
Author, co-author :
Devue, Christel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cognitives > Psychologie cognitive
Van der Stigchel, Stefan; Cognitive Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Brédart, Serge ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cognitives > Psychologie cognitive - Doyen de la Faculté de Psychologie et des sc. de l'éducation
Theeuwes, Jan; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam - VU > Cognitive Psychology
Language :
English
Title :
Does the self-face grab and/or retain attention? An eye movement study