PerceptualLoad/Dilution Temporal Exposure, and Sex-Linked Variability in Attentional Control

This project investigates the mechanisms underlying distractor processing in flanker tasks by jointly examining dilution dynamics, temporal constraints, and individual differences in attentional control. Moving beyond congruency-based interpretations, the study incorporates neutral trials to separately assess interference and facilitation effects and includes experimental conditions designed to dissociate dilution-related influences from perceptual load changes. The work is motivated by a literature largely dominated by rapid flanker presentations and limited consideration of sex-related variability, aiming to clarify how presentation duration and potential differences in proactive versus reactive attentional strategies shape performance patterns. Across brief and extended viewing conditions, the project evaluates whether observed effects are more consistent with dilution-based accounts and explores how longer exposure durations may strengthen distractor representations over time. Overall, the project seeks to provide a more nuanced and integrative framework for understanding attentional selection by emphasizing the combined roles of dilution processes, temporal dynamics, and individual differences in shaping distractor-related effects.