Can one pay attention to a particular color?

In an array of elements whose colors vary can we selectively choose to proc ess all the items of a particular color preferentially in relation to those of another color? We addressed this question by presenting subjects with a rrays containing many elements, and recording reaction times to a luminance change of one of the elements. Half the elements had one color and the oth er half another color-the spatial distribution being random. In two tasks-a simple detection of this change or a choice reaction time to the polarity of the change-we found that reaction times were independent of the number o f items in the array. Cuing the subjects as to the color of the target item had no significant influence on the detection task, but subjects were fast er if cued for the discrimination task. A further experiment replicated the se findings and examined possible costs and benefits. Our final experiment separated the roles of attentional guidance and postattentional processes b y having subjects judge the orientation of the target clement and varying t he magnitude of the target flash that defined which element uas the target. We found that; this judgment was also affected by color cuing, and that th e size of the effect interacted with the flash strength, suggesting that co lor cuing has its influence at the stage of attentional guidance. We conclu de that subjects can selectively attend to items on the basis of color give n the appropriate task and stimulus dynamics.