Further evidence for a time-independent shift of the focus of attention

Ho Wan Kwak, Dale Dagenbach, Howard Egeth

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

99 Scopus citations

Abstract

The separation between stimuli was manipulated in a same-different matching task. In Experiment 1, stimuli were upright Ts and/or Ls, whereas in Experiment 2, they were rotated Ts and/or Ls. In both experiments, mean reaction time (RT) for the same-different judgment did not increase as a function of interletter separation, suggesting either that the time needed to relocate attention was independent of distance, or that the stimuli were processed in parallel. These alternatives were tested in a third experiment, with a diagnostic for parallel processing proposed by Egeth and Dagenbach (1991). The diagnostic indicated that the rotated Ts and Ls in Experiment 2 were processed serially. If serial processing implies the utilization of attention, then the results of Experiment 2 suggest that relocation of attention is time-invariant with respect to distance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)473-480
Number of pages8
JournalPerception & Psychophysics
Volume49
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1991

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Sensory Systems
  • Psychology(all)

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