Effect of template complexity on visual search and dual-task performance.
Even dissimilar tasks interfere with one another when done together. We used visual search to examine the underlying cause of such interference. In many models, visual search is a process of biased competition controlled by a template describing the target to be sought. When the display is processed, matching against this template guides attention to the target. We show that increasing template complexity increased interference with a dissimilar concurrent task, story memory. This result was independent of reaction time: Increases in template complexity were associated with no increase in search time in Experiment 1 and with a decrease in search time in Experiment 2. The results show that the dual-task demands of visual search reflect the complexity of the template used in task control, and that this factor can be isolated from other sources of difficulty.
Bourke
Patrick A
PA
Department of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, United Kingdom. pbourke@lincoln.ac.uk
Duncan
John
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003657:Decision Making; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011340:Problem Solving; D011601:Psychophysics; D011930:Reaction Time; D013067:Speech Perception; D014706:Verbal Learning