Orientierungswirkungen

Orientierungswirkungen describe the effects that cues and stimuli have on the orienting of attention and subsequent perception and action. The term is used primarily in psychology and neuroscience to refer to how attention is directed toward a location, feature, or object in space as a result of external or internal signals. These effects influence how quickly and accurately a person processes information at the cued location or feature.

A common distinction is between exogenous (automatic) and endogenous (voluntary) orienting. Exogenous cues are sudden, salient stimuli that capture attention reflexively, typically producing rapid shifts toward the cued location. Endogenous cues are symbolic or central signals, such as arrows, that require interpretation and allocate attention in a goal-directed manner. The time course differs: exogenous orienting is fast and transient, while endogenous orienting develops more slowly but can be sustained. After enough delay, some tasks show inhibition of return, where attention is slower to return to previously cued locations.

Methods to study orientierungswirkungen include cueing paradigms, reaction time measurements, and eye-tracking. Neurophysiological correlates involve brain regions such as the parietal cortex and frontal eye fields, with various ERP components (for example, early sensory enhancements at attended locations) and changes in neural activity indicating selective processing at cued sites.

Applications span human–computer interaction, interface design, and safety-critical tasks (for example, visual search in clinical environments or driving). Orientierungswirkungen also inform clinical research on attention disorders, informing interventions and assessment tools. The concept emphasizes how cues shape perception and action by guiding the allocation of attentional resources.