It was hypothesized that attention could be directed to the emphasized task regardless of its spatial location. 20 subjects performed a simple RT to a stimulus located in foveal vision and a simple RT to four surrounding stimuli set in the visual periphery. Importance of task was manipulated through instructions. Analysis of variance showed subjects had shorter RTs to the emphasized area regardless of its spatial location. The attentional demands of the tasks and the importance assigned to the tasks were critical factors in response speed. This may help to explain the results of visual-narrowing experiments which have indicated narrowing after placing an attention-demanding task in foveal vision.
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