Covert Attention Experiment

Covert attention differs from overt attention in the same way that observing something out of the corner of the eye differs from gazing at it. The distinction is readily understood by students who are generally quite good at using their covert attention to focus on the really interesting stimuli in a classroom while maintaining their overt attention on the teacher. Rather than use the colloquial "out of the corner of the eye" definition for covert attention, one can use the more formal "peripheral visual and mental focus." A benefit of covert attention is that it enables us to respond more quickly to attended events, as illustrated by this experiment in which covert attention is manipulated. This experiment is a modified version of a task employed by Posner, Nissen, and Ogden (1980).

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