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Restricted attentional capacity within but not between sensory modalities

Author

Listed:
  • John Duncan

    (*MRC Applied Psychology Unit
    Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.D.)

  • Sander Martens

    (†Unit of Experimental and Theoretical Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University)

  • Robert Ward

    (‡School of Psychology, University of Wales)

Abstract

Restrictions to attentional capacity are revealed by the interference that commonly results when two sensory inputs must be identified at the same time1. To investigate this phenomenon within and between modalities, we presented streams of visual and/or auditory inputs, containing occasional targets to be identified and recalled. For two visual or two auditory streams, identification of one target produced a sustained reduction in the ability to identify a second, the period of interference lasting for several hundred milliseconds. Subjectively, when attention was assigned to one target it was temporarily unavailable for another. In contrast, there was no such time-locked interference between targets in different modalities. The results suggest a modality-specific restriction to concurrent attention and awareness; visual attention to one simple target does not restrict concurrent auditory attention to another.

Suggested Citation

  • John Duncan & Sander Martens & Robert Ward, 1997. "Restricted attentional capacity within but not between sensory modalities," Nature, Nature, vol. 387(6635), pages 808-810, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:387:y:1997:i:6635:d:10.1038_42947
    DOI: 10.1038/42947
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    Cited by:

    1. Sander Martens & Manasa Kandula & John Duncan, 2010. "Restricted Attentional Capacity within but Not between Sensory Modalities: An Individual Differences Approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(12), pages 1-6, December.
    2. Hong-Wen Cao & Kai-Bin Jin & Chao-Yi Li & Hong-Mei Yan, 2014. "Attentional Blink Is Hierarchically Modulated by Phonological, Morphological, Semantic and Lexical Connections between Two Chinese Characters," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(8), pages 1-6, August.
    3. Troy A W Visser & Jeneva L Ohan, 2012. "How Does Information Processing Speed Relate to the Attentional Blink?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(3), pages 1-8, March.
    4. Janne F Ettwig & Adelbert W Bronkhorst, 2015. "Attentional Switches and Dual-Task Interference," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, March.
    5. Jacob Taylor Fisher & Frederic René Hopp & René Weber, 2019. "Modality-Specific Effects of Perceptual Load in Multimedia Processing," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 149-165.
    6. Anna Peng & Natasha Z Kirkham & Denis Mareschal, 2018. "Information processes of task-switching and modality-shifting across development," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, June.

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