The Attentional Orientation and Disengagement Mechanisms in Non-Target Processing of Self-Related Information and the Modulating Effect of Attentional Window

Whether the attentional capture mechanism of self-relevant information acting as non-target processing is entirely automatic or can be modulated by top-down goal setting remains inconclusive. Additionally, research has found that the attentional window modulates cognitive processing. Based on this, the present study employs a color-identity association paradigm and a modified spatial cueing paradigm to investigate the attentional capture mechanism (including attentional orienting and disengagement) of self-relevant information during non-target processing, as well as the moderating effect of the attentional window, through three experiments. Under the small attentional window condition, when self-relevant information was target-relevant (Experiment 1), participants showed faster attentional orienting and delayed disengagement toward self-relevant information compared to stranger information. When self-relevant information was target-irrelevant (Experiment 2), there were no significant differences in attentional orienting or disengagement between self-relevant and stranger information. Under the large attentional window condition, when self-relevant information was target-irrelevant (Experiment 3), participants exhibited faster attentional orienting and delayed disengagement toward self-relevant information compared to stranger information. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrate that attentional capture during non-target processing of self-relevant information is not entirely automatic but is modulated by top-down goal setting. The findings from Experiments 2 and 3 indicate that attentional window size regulates the mechanisms of attentional orienting and disengagement for self-relevant information during non-target processing. Collectively, these results reveal that although self-relevant information possesses marked salience, its processing remains subject to modulation by top-down goal setting. Furthermore, external factors such as attentional window size influence individual processing patterns of self-relevant information, demonstrating cognitive flexibility in self-relevant processing. This reflects individuals’ capacity for adaptive adjustments to environmental changes.