일련의 시각 자극들이 짧은 시간에 연달에 제시되는 신속순차제시에서 두 개의 특정 표적을 식별해 내는 과제를 수행할 때, 첫 번째 표적 제시 후 500ms 이내에 두 번째 표적이 제시되면 두 번째 표적의 식별이 어려워지는 현상을 주의 깜박임이라고 한다. 최근 연구는 주의 깜박임 효과가 일명 돋음색 훈련이라고 하는 훈련 과정을 거치면 제거 될 수 있다고 주장하였다. 신속순차제시의 두 번째 표적을 다른 자극들과는 다른 색(돋음색)으로 제시하여 현출성을 높여 쉽게 식별되도록 한 후, 반복하여 노출시키는 돋음색 훈련 이 후에, 두 번째 표적이 돋음색으로 제시되지 않아도 쉽게 식별할 수 있었다. 본 연구는 돋음색 훈련의 효과가 훈련에 사용되지 않은 표적-방해자극세트를 사용한 경우에도 발생 가능한지 여부를 확인하였다. 돋음색 훈련 회기에 영어문자표적-숫자방해자극으로 구성된 신속순차제시를 사용한 실험 1에서는 돋음색 훈련 효과 자체가 발생하지 않았다. 반면, 실험 2에서는 숫자표적-영어문자방해자극을 사용한 돋음색 훈련 후, 영어문자표적-숫자방해자극의 신속순차제시에서도 주의 깜박임 효과가 제거되었다. 이는 돋음색 훈련 효과가 훈련 회기 중 사용되지 않은 조건으로도 전이 될 수 있음을 보여주며, 돋음색 훈련이 표적을 탐지하고 방해자극을 억제하는 주의 통제 기제에 영향을 끼친다는 기존의 가설을 지지하였다. 한편, 돋음색 훈련 효과가 발생되지 않은 실험 1의 결과는 돋음색 훈련 효과가 발생하는 조건에 대한 추가적인 단서를 제공하며, 돋음색 훈련 효과에 대한 보다 체계적인 후속 연구가 필요함을 보여주었다.
When participants are asked to identify two targets in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), wherein a sequence of visual stimuli was presented in rapid succession, they often fail to identify a second target if it is presented within half a second after the appearance of the first target. This deficit, called attentional blink, has been considered to reflect the capacity limitation of temporal attention. A recent study showed that attentional blink can be eliminated through the color-salient training during which a second target can be easily identified by displaying it in a salient color. The current study explored whether the color-salient training effect can occur even in RSVP with an untrained set of targets and distractors. Experiment 1, which employed letter targets and number distractors during training sessions, did not show any effect of the color-salient training, in that attentional blink did not disappear even after the training. In Experiment 2, after the color-salient training employing RSVP with number targets and letter distractors, attentional blink was eliminated not only in trained RSVP with number targets and letter distractors, but also in untrained RSVP with letter targets and number distractors. This result suggested the color-salient training effect can be transferred to another RSVP with an untrained set of targets and distractors, and it was consistent with the hypothesis that the color-salient training influences attentional control mechanisms that are related to both target selection and distractor inhibition. In addition, the results of Experiment 1 that failed to show the color-salient training effect provided clues related to conditions in which the color-salient training can work.
When participants are asked to identify two targets in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), wherein a sequence of visual stimuli was presented in rapid succession, they often fail to identify a second target if it is presented within half a second after the appearance of the first target. This deficit, called attentional blink, has been considered to reflect the capacity limitation of temporal attention. A recent study showed that attentional blink can be eliminated through the color-salient training during which a second target can be easily identified by displaying it in a salient color. The current study explored whether the color-salient training effect can occur even in RSVP with an untrained set of targets and distractors. Experiment 1, which employed letter targets and number distractors during training sessions, did not show any effect of the color-salient training, in that attentional blink did not disappear even after the training. In Experiment 2, after the color-salient training employing RSVP with number targets and letter distractors, attentional blink was eliminated not only in trained RSVP with number targets and letter distractors, but also in untrained RSVP with letter targets and number distractors. This result suggested the color-salient training effect can be transferred to another RSVP with an untrained set of targets and distractors, and it was consistent with the hypothesis that the color-salient training influences attentional control mechanisms that are related to both target selection and distractor inhibition. In addition, the results of Experiment 1 that failed to show the color-salient training effect provided clues related to conditions in which the color-salient training can work.