Attentional effects of adaptation of rotary motion in the plane.

The effect of attention on the adaptation effects produced by stimuli rotating in the picture plane was examined in five experiments. In experiment 1, subjects performed a task either on a rotating adapting stimulus or on an irrelevant distractor stimulus. Adaptation of a subsequent ambiguous test stimulus was greater when the adapting stimulus was attended than when the irrelevant stimulus was attended. In experiments 2, 3, and 5, two adapting stimuli were presented, rotating in opposite directions, and subjects attended to one or the other. The direction of rotation of the ambiguous test stimulus depended on which adapting stimulus was attended. In experiment 4, the influence of eye movements in producing adaptation in ambiguous motion displays was determined by contrasting the effects of adaptation produced by dual adaptation stimuli rotating in the same or opposite direction. Adaptation effects were not predicted by eye movement hypotheses.