Semantically congruent auditory primes enhance visual search efficiency: Direct evidence by varying set size.

Abstract

Task-irrelevant sounds that are semantically congruent with the target can facilitate performance in visual search tasks, resulting in faster search times. In three experiments, we tested the underlying processes of this effect. Participants were presented with auditory primes that were semantically congruent, neutral, or incongruent to the visual search target, and importantly, we varied the set size of the search displays. According to seminal accounts of semantic priming, priming effects can be explained by processes not related to search (i.e., facilitation of target encoding; McNamara, 2013), which would predict a priming effect that is independent of set size. Alternatively, we tested if auditory priming can serve as a source of guidance for visual attention toward the primed target (i.e., in terms of altering attention-directing priorities; Wolfe, 2021), as indexed by higher search efficiency with congruent priming. Experiment 1 found that auditory color word primes resulted in faster responses and, importantly, flatter search slopes for congruent compared to incongruent color targets, indicating a more efficient search. As with many naturalistic search behaviors, we used multiple-target search. Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Experiment 1 with a reduced target set. Experiment 3 extended these findings to complex audiovisual objects. Our results provide direct evidence that cross-modal priming can guide visual selective attention, as reflected by enhanced visual search efficiency. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).