The reversed compatibility effect: distractors matching the response feature but not the selection feature capture attention and evoke suppression

Previous studies have shown that multiple features in attentional control settings have different effects on guiding attention. Distractors matching the selection feature of the target capture attention, but distractors matching the response feature do not necessarily capture attention when they were presented in task-relevant locations. The present study examined how distractors matching either the response feature or the selection feature affect guidance of attention and subsequent processing when they were presented in task-irrelevant locations. The results of four experiments consistently showed that distractors matching the selection feature (target-color) were sufficient to capture attention and facilitated subsequent processing no matter whether they match the response feature (letter shape) or not. However, distractors matching only the response feature but not the selection feature were suppressed reactively after their initial attentional capture at task-irrelevant locations. Thus, the selection feature and the response feature in attentional control settings have different effects on guiding attention.