Effect of defining features on inhibition in a spatial localization task

In selective attention tasks, inhibition appears to be limited to the reported feature of a stimulus, suggesting that reported features determine inhibition (S. P. Tipper, B. Weaver, & G. Houghton, 1994). This article examines whether defining features can also determine inhibition when participants are required to make a cognitive search on the basis of a target feature (color or shape). In 2 spatial localization experiments in which a touch-sensitive monitor was used, results indicated that distracter inhibition depended on both defining and reported stimulus features. Two additional experiments examined the locus of discrepancy between these results and other findings (e.g., B. Milliken, S. P.Tipper, & B. Weaver, 1994). The researchers concluded that defining features can determine inhibition in a selective attention task involving spatial localization. However, defining-feature inhibition may depend on level of analysis of the stimuli.