Spatial attention does improve temporal discrimination.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Laboratory psychophysics experiment (within-subject design) by non-clinical design analogy
PubMed 19304617 · doi:10.3758/APP.71.2.273
What was done
Researchers investigated the effect of exogenous spatial attention on temporal-resolution tasks while controlling for speed-accuracy trade-offs (SATs). Reaction times were constrained so response decisions occurred within comparable time windows across spatially cued, uncued, and neutral cue conditions.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. Directionally, when reaction times were controlled, performance was impaired on cued compared with neutral trials, but performance improved on cued compared with uncued trials.
Why it matters
This study indicates that prior findings of spatial attention impairing temporal resolution may have been driven by unmeasured speed-accuracy trade-offs and differences in cue salience rather than an inherent sensory cost.
Limits
The abstract does not report sample size, participant demographics, stimulus parameters, or quantitative performance data. Results are restricted to controlled laboratory psychophysical tasks.
Cited by
- partial A narrow visual aperture alters time perception through finer temporal slicing and is bidirectionally linked with sympathetic nervous system alertness.