Does the identification of simple features require serial processing?
Several recent studies have shown performance decrements with increasing display size when background texture elements are present in a same-different feature discrimination task--a result that challenges the traditional notion that the identities of simple visual features are processed in parallel, preattentively. Four experiments are reported that explore the implications of these results. Experiment 1 replicates the recent studies but limits the generalizability of the results to small target numbers. Experiments 2 and 3 show that the observed performance decrements are not due to a serial or even limited-capacity, parallel process. Experiment 4 suggests that decision factors idiosyncratic to the use of texture elements in a same-different task are responsible for the effect. It is concluded that the identification of simple visual features proceeds in parallel, with unlimited capacity (i.e., preattentively).
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NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011930:Reaction Time