Attention-Related Inhibition: Maybe IOR Effect Isn’t Where Attention Was… It’s Where Attention Is

Two studies test an alternative to the traditional perspective of Inhibition of Return (IOR), the notion that the reorientation of attention to a previously attended location is inhibited. The proposed Attention-Related Inhibition (ARI) Model links this effect with inhibition that is necessary for executive attention. Study 1 demonstrated that ARI provides a benefit only when responses require discrimination, but not when simple detection is involved. In Study 2, the benefit for ARI emerged more quickly with predictive cues than with nonpredictive cues. Together, these findings provide preliminary support for the ARI model, demonstrating that 1) inhibition reflects the presence, not the absence of attention, and that 2) the benefits of ARI are related to slow, purposeful processing, and not rapid, automatic reactions.