Abstract
It is well known that attention selects preferentially stimuli that are task relevant or physically salient. Recent studies have demonstrated that stimuli previously associated with reward involuntarily capture attention (e.g. Anderson, 2013). However, it is unclear whether rewarded associated stimuli capture attention when this reward association requires highly cognitive load. In the present study, to prove relationship between the value-driven mechanism and cognitive control, we investigated whether the stimuli associated with reward in the flankers captured attention. Results showed that the compatibility effect for the high-value flanker was significantly greater than that for the low-value flanker. Moreover, we found disappearance of conflict adaptation for trials in which conflict was not only followed by high-reward feedback but also low-reward feedback. These results indicate that the stimuli associated with reward capture attention, even in a situation where cognitive load is high.
