Filtering distractors is costly.
Cogn Emot
; 38(5): 834-840, 2024 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38427425
ABSTRACT
To find a target in visual search, it is often necessary to filter out task-irrelevant distractors. People find the process of distractor filtering effortful, exerting physical effort to reduce the number of distractors that need to be filtered on a given search trial. Working memory demands are sufficiently costly that people are sometimes willing to accept aversive heat stimulation in exchange for the ability to avoid performing a working memory task. The present study examines whether filtering distractors in visual search is similarly costly. The findings reveal that individuals are sometimes willing to accept an electric shock in exchange for the ability to skip a single trial of visual search, increasingly so as the demands of distractor filtering increase. This was true even when acceptance of shock resulted in no overall time savings, although acceptance of shock was overall infrequent and influenced by a plurality of factors, including boredom and curiosity. These findings have implications for our understanding of the mental burden of distractor filtering and why people seek to avoid cognitive effort more broadly.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Atenção
/
Memória de Curto Prazo
Limite:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article