Attentional capture by Pavlovian reward-signalling distractors in visual search persists when rewards are removed

Sign-tracking to non-drug reward is related to severity of alcohol-use problems in a sample of individuals seeking treatment

BACKGROUND

A prominent neuroscientific theory of drug addiction is the incentive sensitization model. Individual differences in the tendency to ascribe motivational salience to cues that predict reward, and involuntary "sign-tracking" (orientation towards) such cues have been identified as potentially important in understanding vulnerability to addiction and relapse. However, to date this behaviour has not been assessed in a treatment-seeking clinical population, who typically represent those most susceptible to alcohol-related harms and episodes of relapse. This highlights a significant gap in the literature pertaining to incentive sensitization and drug dependence.

METHODS

Individuals accessing inpatient drug and alcohol services with alcohol as primary drug of concern were recruited to participate in a Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) intervention. At the baseline assessment, participants completed various self-report measures (including the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; AUDIT) in addition to a visual search task measuring sign-tracking to cues signalling monetary reward. At 3-month follow up, abstinence from alcohol was the primary outcome measure. All analyses and hypotheses were pre-registered.

RESULTS

At baseline (57 participants), AUDIT scores correlated with sign-tracking to signals of monetary reward. In a subsequent regression analysis sign-tracking, gender and self-reported alcohol craving predicted abstinence at 3-month follow up (41 participants).

CONCLUSIONS

Our work demonstrates that involuntary sign-tracking to cues signalling non-drug reward is associated with problematic alcohol use and return to use at 3-month follow up, in a treatment-seeking sample. Whether this automatic prioritisation of cues signalling reward is a consequence or vulnerability for problematic alcohol use remains to be investigated.

Opening new vistas on obsessive-compulsive disorder with the observing response task

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a highly prevalent and debilitating disorder, is incompletely understood in terms of underpinning behavioural, psychological, and neural mechanisms. This is attributable to high symptomatic heterogeneity; cardinal features comprise obsessions and compulsions, including clinical subcategories. While obsessive and intrusive thoughts are arguably unique to humans, dysfunctional behaviours analogous to those seen in clinical OCD have been examined in nonhuman animals. Genetic, ethological, pharmacological, and neurobehavioural approaches all contribute to understanding the emergence and persistence of compulsive behaviour. One behaviour of particular interest is maladaptive checking, whereby human patients excessively perform checking rituals despite these serving no purpose. Dysfunctional and excessive checking is the most common symptom associated with OCD and can be readily operationalised in rodents. This review considers animal models of OCD, the neural circuitries associated with impairments in habit-based and goal-directed behaviour, and how these may link to the compulsions observed in OCD. We further review the Observing Response Task (ORT), an appetitive instrumental learning procedure that distinguishes between functional and dysfunctional checking, with translational application in humans and rodents. By shedding light on the psychological and neural bases of compulsive-like checking, the ORT has potential to offer translational insights into the underlying mechanisms of OCD, in addition to being a platform for testing psychological and neurochemical treatment approaches.

Effects of outcome revaluation on attentional prioritisation of reward-related stimuli

Stimuli associated with rewards can acquire the ability to capture our attention independently of our goals and intentions. Here, we examined whether attentional prioritisation of reward-related cues is sensitive to changes in the value of the reward itself. To this end, we incorporated an instructed outcome devaluation (Experiment 1a), "super-valuation" (Experiment 1b), or value switch (Experiment 2) into a visual search task, using eye-tracking to examine attentional prioritisation of stimuli signalling high- and low-value rewards. In Experiments 1a and 1b, we found that prioritisation of high- and low-value stimuli was insensitive to devaluation of a previously high-value outcome, and super-valuation of a previously low-value outcome, even when participants were provided with further experience of receiving that outcome. In Experiment 2, following a value-switch manipulation, we found that prioritisation of a high-value stimulus could not be overcome with knowledge of the new values of outcomes alone. Only when provided with further experience of receiving the outcomes did patterns of attentional prioritisation of high- and low-value stimuli switch, in line with the updated values of the outcomes they signalled. To reconcile these findings, we suggest that participants were motivated to engage in effortful updating of attentional control settings when there was a relative difference between reward values at test (Experiment 2) but that previous settings were allowed to persist when both outcomes had the same value at test (Experiments 1a and 1b). These findings provide a novel framework to further understand the role of cognitive control in driving reward-modulated attention and behaviour.

Task-irrelevant valence-preferred colors boost visual search for a singleton-shape target

Some studies have suggested that emotion-associated features might influence attentional capture. However, demonstrating valence-dependent distractor interference has proven challenging, possibly due to the neglect of individuals' color-valence preferences in standard, averaged reaction-time (RT) measures. To address this, we investigated valence-driven attentional-capture using an association phase in which emotionally neutral vs. positive-feedback photographs were paired with two alternative target colors, red vs. green. This was followed by a test phase requiring participants to search for a pop-out shape target in the presence or absence of an emotion-associated color. In Experiments 1 and 2, this color could only appear in a distractor, while in Experiment 3, it appeared in the target. Analyzing the standard, averaged RT measures, we found no significant valence association or valence-modulated attentional capture. However, correlational analyses revealed a positive relationship between individual participants' color-valence preference during the association phase and their valence-based effect during the test phase. Moreover, most individuals favored red over green in the association phase, leading to marked color-related asymmetries in the average measures. Crucially, the presence of the valence-preferred color anywhere in the test display facilitated RTs. This effect persisted even when the color appeared in one of the distractors (Experiments 1 and 2), at variance with this distractor capturing attention. These findings suggest that task-irrelevant valence-preferred color signals were registered pre-attentively and boosted performance, likely by raising the general (non-spatial) alertness level. However, these signals were likely kept out of attentional-priority computation to prevent inadvertent attentional capture.

On the reliability of value-modulated attentional capture: An online replication and multiverse analysis

Stimuli predicting rewards are more likely to capture attention, even when they are not relevant to our current goals. Individual differences in value-modulated attentional capture (VMAC) have been associated with various psychopathological conditions in the scientific literature. However, the claim that this attentional bias can predict individual differences requires further exploration of the psychometric properties of the most common experimental paradigms. The current study replicated the VMAC effect in a large online sample (N = 182) and investigated the internal consistency, with a design that allowed us to measure the effect during learning (rewarded phase) and after acquisition, once feedback was omitted (unrewarded phase). Through the rewarded phase there was gradual increase of the VMAC effect, which did not decline significantly throughout the unrewarded phase. Furthermore, we conducted a reliability multiverse analysis for 288 different data preprocessing specifications across both phases. Specifications including more blocks in the analysis led to better reliability estimates in both phases, while specifications that removed more outliers also improved reliability, suggesting that specifications with more, but less noisy, trials led to better reliability estimates. Nevertheless, in most instances, especially those considering fewer blocks of trials, reliability estimates fell below the minimum recommended thresholds for research on individual differences. Given the present results, we encourage researchers working on VMAC to take into account reliability when designing studies aimed at capturing individual differences and provide recommendations to improve methodological practices.

Value-modulated attentional capture is augmented by win-related sensory cues

Attentional prioritisation of stimuli in the environment plays an important role in overt choice. Previous research shows that prioritisation is influenced by the magnitude of paired rewards, in that stimuli signalling high-value rewards are more likely to capture attention than stimuli signalling low-value rewards; and this attentional bias has been proposed to play a role in addictive and compulsive behaviours. A separate line of research has shown that win-related sensory cues can bias overt choices. However, the role that these cues play in attentional selection is yet to be investigated. Participants in this study completed a visual search task in which they responded to a target shape in order to earn reward. The colour of a distractor signalled the magnitude of reward and type of feedback on each trial. Participants were slower to respond to the target when the distractor signalled high reward compared to when the distractor signalled low reward, suggesting that the high-reward distractors had increased attentional priority. Critically, the magnitude of this reward-related attentional bias was further increased for a high-reward distractor with post-trial feedback accompanied by win-related sensory cues. Participants also demonstrated an overt choice preference for the distractor that was associated with win-related sensory cues. These findings demonstrate that stimuli paired with win-related sensory cues are prioritised by the attention system over stimuli with equivalent physical salience and learned value. This attentional prioritisation may have downstream implications for overt choices, especially in gambling contexts where win-related sensory cues are common.

The next frontier: Moving human fear conditioning research online

Fear conditioning is a significant area of research that has featured prominently among the topics published in Biological Psychology over the last 50 years. This work has greatly contributed to our understanding of human anxiety and stressor-related disorders. While mainly conducted in the laboratory, recently, there have been initial attempts to conduct fear conditioning experiments online, with around 10 studies published on the subject, primarily in the last two years. These studies have demonstrated the potential of online fear conditioning research, although challenges to ensure that this research meets the same methodological standards as in-person experimentation remain, despite recent progress. We expect that in the coming years new outcome measures will become available online including the measurement of eye-tracking, pupillometry and probe reaction time and that compliance monitoring will be improved. This exciting new approach opens new possibilities for large-scale data collection among hard-to-reach populations and has the potential to transform the future of fear conditioning research.

Graded prioritisation of targets in search: reward diminishes the low prevalence effect

In many real-life contexts, observers are required to search for targets that are rarely present (e.g. tumours in X-rays; dangerous items in airport security screenings). Despite the rarity of these items, they are of enormous importance for the health and safety of the public, yet they are easily missed during visual search. This is referred to as the prevalence effect. In the current series of experiments, we investigate whether unequal reward can modulate the prevalence effect, in a multiple target search task. Having first established the impact of prevalence (Experiment 1) and reward (Experiment 2) on how efficiently participants can find one of several targets in the current paradigm, we then combined the two forms of priority to investigate their interaction. An unequal reward distribution (where lower prevalence items are more rewarded; Experiment 3) was found to diminish the effect of prevalence, compared to an equal reward distribution (Experiment 4) as indicated by faster response times and fewer misses. These findings suggest that when combined with an unequal reward distribution, the low prevalence effect can be diminished.

Differential effects of intra-modal and cross-modal reward value on perception: ERP evidence

In natural environments objects comprise multiple features from the same or different sensory modalities but it is not known how perception of an object is affected by the value associations of its constituent parts. The present study compares intra- and cross-modal value-driven effects on behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of perception. Human participants first learned the reward associations of visual and auditory cues. Subsequently, they performed a visual discrimination task in the presence of previously rewarded, task-irrelevant visual or auditory cues (intra- and cross-modal cues, respectively). During the conditioning phase, when reward associations were learned and reward cues were the target of the task, high value stimuli of both modalities enhanced the electrophysiological correlates of sensory processing in posterior electrodes. During the post-conditioning phase, when reward delivery was halted and previously rewarded stimuli were task-irrelevant, cross-modal value significantly enhanced the behavioral measures of visual sensitivity, whereas intra-modal value produced only an insignificant decrement. Analysis of the simultaneously recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) of posterior electrodes revealed similar findings. We found an early (90-120 ms) suppression of ERPs evoked by high-value, intra-modal stimuli. Cross-modal stimuli led to a later value-driven modulation, with an enhancement of response positivity for high- compared to low-value stimuli starting at the N1 window (180-250 ms) and extending to the P3 (300-600 ms) responses. These results indicate that sensory processing of a compound stimulus comprising a visual target and task-irrelevant visual or auditory cues is modulated by the reward value of both sensory modalities, but such modulations rely on distinct underlying mechanisms.

A mechanical task for measuring sign- and goal-tracking in humans: A proof-of-concept study

Cue-based associative learning (i.e., Pavlovian conditioning) is a foundational component of behavior in almost all forms of animal life and may provide insight into individual differences in addiction liability. Cues can take on incentive-motivational properties (i.e., incentive salience) through Pavlovian learning. Extensive testing with non-human animals (primarily rats) has demonstrated significant variation among individuals in the behaviors this type of learning evokes. So-named "sign-trackers" and "goal-trackers" have been examined in many studies of non-human animals, but this work in humans is still a nascent area of research. In the present proof-of-concept study, we used a Pavlovian conditioned approach task to investigate human sign- and goal-tracking in emerging adults. Conditioned behaviors that developed over the course of the task were directed toward the reward-cue and toward the reward location. Participants' eye-gaze and behavior during the task were submitted to a latent profile analysis, which revealed three groups defined as sign-trackers (n = 10), goal-trackers (n = 4), and intermediate responders (n = 36). Impulsivity was a significant predictor of the sign-tracking group relative to the goal-tracking group. The present study provides preliminary evidence that a simple procedure can produce learned Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior in humans. Though further investigation is required, findings provide a promising step toward the long-term goal of translating important insights gleaned from basic research into treatment strategies that can be applied to clinical populations.

Reward learning and statistical learning independently influence attentional priority of salient distractors in visual search

Existing research demonstrates different ways in which attentional prioritization of salient nontarget stimuli is shaped by prior experience: Reward learning renders signals of high-value outcomes more likely to capture attention than signals of low-value outcomes, whereas statistical learning can produce attentional suppression of the location in which salient distractor items are likely to appear. The current study combined manipulations of the value and location associated with salient distractors in visual search to investigate whether these different effects of selection history operate independently or interact to determine overall attentional prioritization of salient distractors. In Experiment 1, high-value and low-value distractors most frequently appeared in the same location; in Experiment 2, high-value and low-value distractors typically appeared in distinct locations. In both experiments, effects of distractor value and location were additive, suggesting that attention-promoting effects of value and attention-suppressing effects of statistical location-learning independently modulate overall attentional priority. Our findings are consistent with a view that sees attention as mediated by a common priority map that receives and integrates separate signals relating to physical salience and value, with signal suppression based on statistical learning determined by physical salience, but not incentive salience.

Attentional capture by signals of reward persists following outcome devaluation

Attention, the mechanism that prioritizes stimuli in the environment for further processing, plays an important role in behavioral choice. In the present study, we investigated the automatic orienting of attention to cues that signal reward. Such attentional capture occurs despite negative consequences, and we investigated whether this counterproductive and reflexive behavior would persist following outcome devaluation. Thirsty participants completed a visual search task in which the color of a distractor stimulus in the search display signaled whether participants would earn water or potato chips for making a rapid eye movement to a diamond target, but looking at the colored distractor was punished by omission of the signaled reward. Nevertheless, participants looked at the water-signaling distractor more frequently than the chip-signaling distractor. Half the participants then drank water ad libitum before continuing with the visual search task. Although the water was now significantly less desirable for half of the participants, there was no difference between groups in the tendency for the water-signaling distractor to capture attention. These findings suggest that once established, counterproductive attentional bias to signals of reward persists even when those outcomes are no longer valuable. This suggests a "habit-like" attentional mechanism that prioritizes reward stimuli in the environment for further action, regardless of whether those stimuli are aligned with current goals or currently desired.

Guiding spatial attention by multimodal reward cues

Our attention is constantly captured and guided by visual and/or auditory inputs. One key contributor to selecting relevant information from the environment is reward prospect. Intriguingly, while both multimodal signal processing and reward effects on attention have been widely studied, research on multimodal reward signals is lacking. Here, we investigated this using a Posner task featuring peripheral cues of different modalities (audiovisual/visual/auditory), reward prospect (reward/no-reward), and cue-target stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs 100-1,300 ms). We found that audiovisual and visual reward cues (but not auditory ones) enhanced cue-validity effects, albeit with different time courses (Experiment 1). While the reward-modulated validity effect of visual cues was pronounced at short SOAs, the effect of audiovisual reward cues emerged at longer SOAs. Follow-up experiments exploring the effects of visual (Experiment 2) and auditory (Experiment 3) reward cues in isolation showed that reward modulated performance only in the visual condition. This suggests that the differential effect of visual and auditory reward cues in Experiment 1 is not merely a result of the mixed cue context, but confirms that visual reward cues have a stronger impact on attentional guidance in this paradigm. Taken together, it seems that adding an auditory reward cue to the inherently dominant visual one led to a shift/extension of the validity effect in time - instead of increasing its amplitude. While generally being in line with a multimodal cuing benefit, this specific pattern highlights that different reward signals are not simply combined in a linear fashion but lead to a qualitatively different process.

Reward Rapidly Enhances Visual Perception

Rewards exert a deep influence on our cognition and behavior. Here, we used a paradigm in which reward information was provided at either encoding or retrieval of a brief, masked stimulus to show that reward can also rapidly modulate perceptual encoding of visual information. Experiment 1 (n = 30 adults) showed that participants' response accuracy was enhanced when a to-be-encoded grating signaled high reward relative to low reward, but only when the grating was presented very briefly and participants reported that they were not consciously aware of it. Experiment 2 (n = 29 adults) showed that there was no difference in participants' response accuracy when reward information was instead provided at the stage of retrieval, ruling out an explanation of the reward-modulation effect in terms of differences in motivated retrieval. Taken together, our findings provide behavioral evidence consistent with a rapid reward modulation of visual perception, which may not require consciousness.

The past, present, and future of selection history

The last ten years of attention research have witnessed a revolution, replacing a theoretical dichotomy (top-down vs. bottom-up control) with a trichotomy (biased by current goals, physical salience, and selection history). This third new mechanism of attentional control, selection history, is multifaceted. Some aspects of selection history must be learned over time whereas others reflect much more transient influences. A variety of different learning experiences can shape the attention system, including reward, aversive outcomes, past experience searching for a target, target‒non-target relations, and more. In this review, we provide an overview of the historical forces that led to the proposal of selection history as a distinct mechanism of attentional control. We then propose a formal definition of selection history, with concrete criteria, and identify different components of experience-driven attention that fit within this definition. The bulk of the review is devoted to exploring how these different components relate to one another. We conclude by proposing an integrative account of selection history centered on underlying themes that emerge from our review.

Testing reward-cue attentional salience: Attainment and dynamic changes

A great wealth of studies has investigated the capacity of motivationally relevant stimuli to bias attention, suggesting that reward predicting cues are prioritized even when reward is no longer delivered and when attending to such stimuli is detrimental to reward achievement. Despite multiple procedures have been adopted to unveil the mechanisms whereby reward cues gain attentional salience, some open questions remain. Indeed, mechanisms different from motivation can be responsible for the capture of attention triggered by the reward cue. In addition, we note that at present only a few studies have sought to address whether the cue attractiveness dynamically follows changes in the associated reward value. Investigating how and to what extent the salience of the reward cue is updated when motivation changes, could help shedding light on how reward‐cues attain and maintain their capacity to attract attention, and therefore on apparent irrational attentive behaviors.

A meta-analysis of the relationship between eating restraint, impaired cognitive control and cognitive bias to food in non-clinical samples

AIM

Food restriction is argued to be a precursor for unhealthy preoccupation with food, possibly leading to the development of an eating disorder. We updated previous meta-analyses that examined the relationship between eating restraint and deficits in either general or food-related attentional and inhibitory control. We hypothesized that inconsistencies in the literature around eating restraint, impaired cognitive control, impulsivity and cognitive biases for food could be attributed to the scale used to measure eating restraint.

METHOD

A (preregistered) subgroup meta-analysis examined whether patterns of impaired cognitive control and cognitive bias for food in predominantly healthy (non-clinical) samples differed as a function of the scale used to measure eating restraint. A series of exploratory meta-analyses were carried out for specific attentional bias tasks. In total 57 datasets were included.

RESULTS

The subgroup analysis did not provide evidence that the relationship between eating restraint and impaired or biased cognitions differed significantly as a function of restraint scale. Heterogeneity across studies was high. When examining specific attentional bias tasks there was no evidence that increased eating restraint was associated with increased attentional bias or distraction by food cues, regardless of which scale was used to measure eating restraint.

CONCLUSIONS

There is little experimental evidence for the common narrative that increased eating restraint is related to impaired cognitive control generally or increased cognitive bias for food, in non-clinical samples.

Reward-related attentional capture predicts non-abstinence during a one-month abstinence challenge

BACKGROUND

While it is generally recognised that cognitive attributes can predict behaviour change outcomes in the field of addiction this question is typically studied in treatment seeking samples (to predict treatment outcomes and relapse). However the concept of behaviour change applies to the entire spectrum of addiction-like behaviours and initiatives such as temporary abstinence challenges offer insight into an understudied but equally relevant point of the spectrum. Thus the current study examined whether reward-related attentional capture predicted non-abstinence during IkPas (the Dutch national dry January campaign translated: NoThanks!).

METHOD

Participants included 1130 adults who had complete baseline data and performed above chance level on the cognitive task. Of these 683 participants completed the post-IkPas assessment and were included in the primary analysis. A binary logistic regression examined whether reward-related attentional capture predicted drinking during IkPas controlling for alcohol use at baseline (among other potential confounders).

RESULTS

Participants who showed greater reward-related attentional capture before IkPas were more likely to not remain abstinent from drinking during IkPas (p = .014). Findings were replicated using multiple imputation to replace missing data (p = .013).

CONCLUSION

These findings provide important insights into the cognitive mechanisms that support successful behaviour change such as the ability to ignore task-irrelevant reward cues and may inform the development of tools that individuals could use to maximise their likelihood of achieving successful behaviour change.

Reward-Related Attentional Capture Moderates the Association between Fear-Driven Motives and Heavy Drinking

BACKGROUND

To date, there has been little investigation on how motivational and cognitive mechanisms interact to influence problematic drinking behaviours. Towards this aim, the current study examined whether reward-related attentional capture is associated with reward, fear (relief), and habit drinking motives, and further, whether it interacts with these motives in relation to problematic drinking patterns.

METHODS

Ninety participants (mean age = 34.8 years, SD = 9.1, 54% male) who reported having consumed alcohol in the past month completed an online visual search task that measured reward-related attentional capture as well as the Habit Reward Fear Scale, a measure of drinking motives. Participants also completed measures of psychological distress, impulsivity, compulsive drinking, and consumption items of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Regression analyses examined the associations between motives for alcohol consumption and reward-related attentional capture, as well as the associations between reward-related attentional capture, motives, and their interaction, with alcohol consumption and problems.

RESULTS

Greater reward-related attentional capture was associated with greater reward motives. Further, reward-related attentional capture also interacted with fear motives in relation to alcohol consumption. Follow-up analyses showed that this interaction was driven by greater fear motives being associated with heavier drinking among those with lower reward-related attentional capture (i.e., "goal-trackers").

CONCLUSION

These findings have implications for understanding how cognition may interact with motives in association with problematic drinking. Specifically, the findings highlight different potential pathways to problematic drinking according to an individual's cognitive-motivational profile and may inform tailored interventions to target profile-specific mechanisms. Finally, these findings offer support for contemporary models of addiction that view excessive goal-directed behaviour under negative affect as a critical contributor to addictive behaviours.

Reduced attentional capture by reward following an acute dose of alcohol

RATIONALE

Previous research has shown that physically salient and reward-related distractors can automatically capture attention and eye gaze in a visual search task, even though participants are motivated to ignore these stimuli.

OBJECTIVES

To examine whether an acute, low dose of alcohol would influence involuntary attentional capture by stimuli signalling reward.

METHODS

Participants were assigned to the alcohol or placebo group before completing a visual search task. Successful identification of the target earned either a low or high monetary reward but this reward was omitted if any eye gaze was registered on the reward-signalling distractor.

RESULTS

Participants who had consumed alcohol were significantly less likely than those in the placebo condition to have their attention captured by a distractor stimulus that signalled the availability of high reward. Analysis of saccade latencies suggested that this difference reflected a reduction in the likelihood of impulsive eye movements following alcohol.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that alcohol intoxication reduces the capacity to attend to information in the environment that is not directly relevant to the task at hand. In the current task, this led to a performance benefit under alcohol, but in situations that require rapid responding to salient events, the effect on behaviour would be deleterious.

Eating restraint is associated with reduced attentional capture by signals of valuable food reward

Previous paradigms used to examine attentional distraction by task-irrelevant food words and food images were not suited for the investigation of involuntary and automatic attentional capture. In the current experiments we adapted a well-established visual-search paradigm (with eye tracking) to investigate involuntary attentional capture by food and drink rewards. We first used a satiety procedure to manipulate relative preference for different food and drink outcomes (potato chips and water in Experiment 1 and popcorn and chocolate Smarties in Experiment 2). Participants then performed the visual-search task where a coloured distractor signalled on each trial which of the two food and drink rewards was available for successful identification of the target. The signalled reward was cancelled, however, if any eye gaze was registered on the distractor. Participants were therefore motivated to try and control the automatic orienting of attention towards cues signalling valuable outcomes, in order to earn those outcomes. In both experiments we found that attention was more often captured by the distractor signalling the valuable (non-sated) outcome, replicating previous studies using this paradigm with monetary rewards. We also found that those scoring high on eating restraint (as measured with the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire) were better at controlling reflexive orienting of attention to desirable food rewards. This paradigm offers a novel approach for understanding how reflexive attention and control relate to conflicts in everyday life around distracting food cues, and the moderating role of dietary restraint.

Learned value and predictiveness affect gaze but not figure assignment

Many factors affect figure-ground segregation, but the contributions of attention and reward history to this process is uncertain. We conducted two experiments to investigate whether reward learning influences figure assignment and whether this relationship was mediated by attention. Participants learned to associate certain shapes with a reward contingency: During a learning phase, they chose between two shapes on each trial, with subsets of shapes associated with high-probability win, low-probability win, high-probability loss, and low-probability loss. In a test phase, participants were given a figure-ground task, in which they indicated which of two regions that shared a contour they perceived as the figure (high-probability win and low-probability win shapes were pitted against each other, as were high-probability loss and low-probability loss shapes). The results revealed that participants had learned the reward contingencies and that, following learning, attention was reliably drawn to the optimal stimulus. Despite this, neither reward history nor the resulting attentional allocation influenced figure-ground organization.