Some recent studies have suggested that, like gaze, symbols and gestures trigger reflexive attentional shift, but the results have been inconclusive because of inconsistencies in the data and differences in the paradigms used. In the present study, we investigated this problem through three experiments using a cuing paradigm. A face, arrow, or pointing cue was presented in the center of the screen, and subjects were asked to localize a target stimulus that subsequently appeared to the left or right of the cue. The subjects were told that the cue was not predictive. For all types of cue, the response time was consistently faster when the cue direction was congruent with the target location than when it was not. These findings suggest that, like gaze, symbols and gestures can automatically trigger a shift in viewers' visual attention.
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