Electrophysiological Evidence for the Suppression of Highly Salient Distractors

We used a modified additional singleton paradigm (added an outer ring of shapes to increase the relative salience of the color singleton distractor, see Stilwell & Gaspelin, in press) to test whether participants suppress the highly salient color singleton distractor. We measured electrophysiological ERP components (N2pc and Pd) to measure covert attentional selection and suppression. Across two experiments we found reliable Pd components evoked by the singleton distractor, indicating it was suppressed below baseline levels of processing. We refute both stimulus-driven and the idiosyncratic search accounts and instead support the signal suppression hypothesis

The Role of Salience in the Suppression of Distracting Stimuli

Open access to the data and analysis scripts accompanying the manuscript submitted to PB&R