Does perceptual analysis continue during selection and production of a speeded response?
This study asked whether perceptual analysis of a stimulus can continue while a response to this stimulus is being generated. In Experiment 1, subjects rapidly named a word that was visually degraded with superimposed pixels. Near the time of response, degradation was removed for a short time and then followed by a mask. Subjects then made a second, unspeeded judgment about the identity of the word. Unspeeded judgments were more accurate, showing that the degradation-free stimulus exposure was processed. In Experiment 2, the task was the same, but the degradation was gradually faded out for an individually adjusted duration. Comparison of unspeeded-response accuracy on trials with and without a speeded response showed that stimulus analysis continued at full efficiency during speeded-response generation. The results support conclusions of Rabbit and Vyas (1981) that perceptual analysis continues during response stages. This form of continuous processing does not necessarily contradict discrete stage models of human information processing, however.
Department of Psychology 0109, University of California San Diego, La Jolla 92093, USA.
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J
Levy
H
H
Pashler
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003657:Decision Making; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading