Inhibition of return: A phenomenon in search of a mechanism and a better name

Abstract

In recent years much work has been devoted to the study of a behavioural phenomenon in visual reaction time, called inhibition of return (IOR), which has been linked to the orienting of visuo-spatial attention. Specifically, the term refers to an automatic inhibition of the return of attention to recently explored locations. The present paper is aimed at questioning the appropriateness of the term, which suggests the operation of a mechanism that is far from being convincingly demonstrated. In spite of its simplicity, the IOR phenomenon cannot be accounted for by a single mechanism and most probably involves both sensory and attentional components, as originally assumed by Posner and Cohen (1984), as well as motor and oculomotor components.