| Effects of Crowding and Cue-Target Onset Asynchrony on Inhibition of Return: A Study of Perceptual Load in Young Female Adults |
| Paper ID : 1608-SPORTCONGRESS |
| Authors |
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Sana Soltani *1, Alireza Farsi2, Behrouz Abdoli2, Maryam Kavyani2 1Bu-Ali Sina University 2Shahid Beheshti University |
| Abstract |
| Introduction: This study aimed to compare the effects of crowding and cue-target onset asynchrony on inhibition of return (IOR), considering different levels of perceptual load. Forty right-handed young women (aged 20–35) from Esfahan with normal or corrected vision participated in the study. Each participant was familiarized with the experimental protocol and then performed the task in two stages: crowded and non-crowded conditions. The non-crowded condition served as a baseline control for assessing typical IOR patterns. Methods: During each stage, stimuli were presented at near and far distances from a central fixation point, and both 150 ms and 1000 ms cue-target onset asynchronies were tested. For each state, participants completed 5 practice trials and 40 experimental trials, resulting in four testing blocks: 320 trials under crowded and 320 trials under non-crowded conditions. Responses were recorded by IOR assessment software, and participants responded to both valid and invalid peripheral cues. The difference in reaction time between valid and invalid trials was analyzed. Results: Statistical analysis using a mixed-design ANOVA (2 [cue-target onset asynchrony] × 2 [crowding] × 2 [distance]) with α = 0.05 revealed that both cue-target onset asynchrony and crowding had significant main effects (P = 0.001), while the main effect of distance from fixation was not significant (P = 0.138). The interaction effects were also significant (P = 0.001), except for crowding × cue-target onset asynchrony (P = 0.072). Further paired t-tests showed no significant difference between near and far distances at 1000 ms (P = 0.175). Conclusion: In summary, increased perceptual load at various distances was found to significantly impact IOR. These results indicate that at least part of inhibition of return is related to perceptual processing, consistent with perceptual theories of IOR. |
| Keywords |
| Keywords: crowding, inhibition of return, cue-target task, visual attention, visual orienting. |
| Status: Abstract Accepted (Oral Presentation) |
