Research article summary:

Determining subprocesses of visual feature search with reaction time models.

Abstract Extract:
After the classic serial/parallel dichotomy of visual search mechanisms has been increasingly doubted, we investigated what search mechanisms are used between the two poles termed 'pop-out' and 'strictly serial search' in an overt feature search ... (Full abstract text below)

Published 2003May in Journal: Psychol Res (Language : eng)

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1. Psychol Res. 2003 May;67(2):80-105

Determining subprocesses of visual feature search with reaction time models.

Müller-Plath G, Pollmann S

Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Leipzig, Germany. g.mueller-plath@psych.uni-halle.de

After the classic serial/parallel dichotomy of visual search mechanisms has been increasingly doubted, we investigated what search mechanisms are used between the two poles termed "pop-out" and "strictly serial search" in an overt feature search paradigm. Since reaction time slopes do not contain sufficient information for this purpose, we developed a novel technique for analyzing reaction times. Individual reaction times are modeled as sums of the durations of successive search steps. Model parameters are task characteristics (similarity, number and arrangement of target and distractors) and processing characteristics of the participant (e.g., attention dwell and shift durations). In Experiment 1, several model variants were fitted numerically to empirical reaction times. The best fitting model suggested that more than one item can be processed in a single fixation, movement of attention is abrupt and not continuous, and even in pop out search, attention is often explicitly moved to the target. In Experiment 2, we measured the central model parameter, the so-called range of attention, more directly and thereby validated the model. The model provides an explanation for the strong variation in the slope of reaction time functions, which is not based on an explicit distinction between parallel and serial search processes.

PMID : 12739145 [PubMed - Indexed for MEDLINE]

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Full Author Information

First Name	LastName	Initials
Gisela	Müller-Plath	G
Stefan	Pollmann	S

Affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Leipzig, Germany. g.mueller-plath@psych.uni-halle.de

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