Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 

About: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance is an academic journal published by American Psychological Association. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Poison control & Visual search. It has an ISSN identifier of 0096-1523. Over the lifetime, 4688 publications have been published receiving 363057 citations. The journal is also known as: Journal of experimental psychology:. Human perception and performance.

Temporary suppression of visual processing in an RSVP task: an attentional blink? .

Abstract: Through rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), we asked Ss to identify a partially specified letter (target) and then to detect the presence or absence of a fully specified letter (probe). Whereas targets are accurately identified, probes are poorly detected when they are presented during a 270-ms interval beginning 180 ms after the target. Probes presented immediately after the target or later in the RSVP stream are accurately detected. This temporary reduction in probe detection was not found in conditions in which a brief blank interval followed the target or Ss were not required to identify the target. The data suggest that the presentation of stimuli after the target but before target-identification processes are complete produces interference at a letter-recognition stage. This interference may cause the temporary suppression of visual attention mechanisms observed in the present study. Language: en

Involuntary covert orienting is contingent on attentional control settings.

Abstract: Four experiments tested a new hypothesis that involuntary attention shifts are contingent on the relationship between the properties of the eliciting event and the properties required for task performance. In a variant of the spatial cuing paradigm, the relation between cue property and the property useful in locating the target was systematically manipulated. In Experiment 1, invalid abrupt-onset precues produced costs for targets characterized by an abrupt onset but not for targets characterized by a discontinuity in color. In Experiment 2, invalid color precues produced greater costs for color targets than for abrupt-onset targets. Experiment 3 provided converging evidence for this pattern. Experiment 4 investigated the boundary conditions and time course for attention shifts elicited by color discontinuities. The results of these experiments suggest that attention capture is contingent on attentional control settings induced by task demands.

Guided search: an alternative to the feature integration model for visual search.

Abstract: Subjects searched sets of items for targets defined by conjunctions of color and form, color and orientation, or color and size. Set size was varied and reaction times (RT) were measured. For many unpracticed subjects, the slopes of the resulting RT X Set Size functions are too shallow to be consistent with Treisman's feature integration model, which proposes serial, self-terminating search for conjunctions. Searches for triple conjunctions (Color X Size X Form) are easier than searches for standard conjunctions and can be independent of set size. A guided search model similar to Hoffman's (1979) two-stage model can account for these data. In the model, parallel processes use information about simple features to guide attention in the search for conjunctions. Triple conjunctions are found more efficiently than standard conjunctions because three parallel processes can guide attention more effectively than two. Language: en

Perceptual load as a necessary condition for selective attention.

Abstract: The early and late selection debate may be resolved if perceptual load of relevant information determines the selective processing of irrelevant information. This hypothesis was tested in 3 studies; all used a variation of the response competition paradigm to measure irrelevant processing when load in the relevant processing was varied. Perceptual load was manipulated by relevant display set size or by different processing requirements for identical displays. These included the requirement to process conjunctions versus isolated features and the requirement to perform simple detection of a character's presence versus difficult identification of its size and position. Distractors' interference was found only under low-load conditions. Because the distractor was usually clearly distinct from the target, it is concluded that physical separation is not a sufficient condition for selective perception; overloading perception is also required. This allows a compromise between early and late selection views and resolves apparent discrepancies in previous work.