The role of the fixation location in inhibition of return

Experiments that have examined inhibition of return (IOR) have typically us ed trial sequences in which attention is reoriented to a central fixation l ocation between the presentation of the peripheral cue(s) and the target. I n examining the role of the fixation location in IOR, three experiments wer e conducted in which an exogenous cue was used to reorient attention follow ing a peripheral cue and before the appearance of a target. However, this c ue occurred at either the traditional central fixation location or a nonfix ated location. The results indicate that reorienting attention to a fixated location results in a significant reduction in the inhibitory effect. The results from the study suggest that IOR could serve as a mechanism that imp roves the efficiency of visual searches.