covert orienting

Meaning: Covert orienting is selective attention directed to a spatial location while gaze stays fixed, so nothing observable moves. Overt orienting is turning the eyes or head toward a stimulus. A covert shift can be exogenous (reflexive, captured by a sudden peripheral flash or movement) or endogenous (voluntary, guided by a central cue such as an arrow or by the person's goals). Processing at the attended location is enhanced, which is the basis of the spotlight metaphor of attention. Attention commonly shifts before an eye movement to the same place.

On the MCAT: The classic setup is the Posner cueing task. The participant fixates on a central point, a cue points to one side, and then a target appears on the cued side (valid) or the other side (invalid). Reaction time is measured. The expected order is valid cue faster than neutral cue, and neutral faster than invalid. Eye tracking or a brief display time confirms that gaze did not move, which is what makes the orienting covert. Passages may ask which cue type is exogenous versus endogenous.

Common confusion: Covert does not mean unconscious or automatic. People can shift covert attention deliberately. Covert refers only to the lack of an eye or head movement. So where someone is looking does not necessarily show where they are attending.