Visual attention: Effective suppression of distractors without knowledge of target features.

Abstract

The ability to suppress salient yet irrelevant stimuli is crucial for sustaining attention in complex environments. This research explores whether individuals can suppress highly salient distractors without prior knowledge of a specific target, relying solely on a negative search template. A secondary objective is to examine the flexibility of these suppression strategies. Sixteen participants completed two EEG-recorded visual search sessions, one with a red and one with a green distractor, being instructed to search for a “non-red” or “non-green” diamond. The distractor colour in the first session became a potential target in the second. ERP analyses reveal a distractor-elicited N2pc, indicating initial covert attentional capture, followed by a Pd component, reflecting reactive suppression. Behavioural data shows significantly lower accuracy and inverse efficiency scores on distractor-present trials, confirming a cost of attentional capture. Across sessions, both N2pc and Pd components appear early and remain stable, highlighting the rapid and flexible adaptation of attentional mechanisms to shifting stimuli roles.