title: High-level effects of masking on perceptual identification.
abstract: The extent to which visual form versus higher-level information is used to identify briefly flashed words is assessed in a perceptual identification task. In this task, a word is briefly flashed, post-masked, and a decision is made between two alternatives. The availability of visual (e.g., case or color) and higher-level information (e.g., abstract letter codes, phonology, and meaning) was manipulated by varying the information that discriminates the alternatives. Performance was better with higher-level than with visual information when pattern post-masks were used, but the reverse occurred without masking. The authors conclude that both higher-level and visual-form information can be used to identify words with the strategy depending on the information available at the time of the choice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Bloomington, 1101 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. asanborn@indiana.edu
authors.forename: Adam N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Sanborn
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Malmberg
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Shiffrin
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition; D003118:Color Perception; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011594:Psychometrics; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D012858:Size Perception