Onset capture requires attention.

We studied exogenous cuing caused by an uninformative abrupt onset during a time when subjects were under the influence of the attentional blink. In two experiments, we found a reduced impact of exogenous cuing during the blink time of the attentional blink. The results indicate that involuntary orienting caused by abrupt onsets is sensitive to manipulation of available attentional resources. Thus, onset capture requires attention.