Unique temporal change is the key to attentional capture.

Attentional capture refers to the observation that some events break through and attract one's attention even when one is engaged in a task for which these events are irrelevant. Previous research, focusing primarily on spatial factors, has shown that a new object is more salient in this regard than an abrupt change in an object's features. Here we show that feature changes can be as effective as new objects in capturing attention, provided that they occur during a period of temporal calm.

Multiple-object tracking is based on scene, not retinal, coordinates.

This study tested whether multiple-object tracking-the ability to visually index objects on the basis of their spatiotemporal history-is scene based or image based. Initial experiments showed equivalent tracking accuracy for objects in 2-D and 3-D motion. Subsequent experiments manipulated the speeds of objects independent of the speed of the scene as a whole.