Conjunction benefits and costs reveal decision priming for first-order and second-order features.
Across two experiments, decision priming was examined for conjunctions composed of first-order or first- and second-order stimulus features. Observers indicated the presence or absence of one or two features in a Gabor stimulus. When a pair of stimulus features differed in their speed of discrimination, responses indicating the presence of a conjunction were faster than those for the single feature for which discrimination was slowest (conjunction benefits). Also, responses indicating the absence of a conjunction were delayed if one of the features was present (conjunction costs). These results show that first- and second-order features can prime decisions about the presence of a conjunction and suggest that the two kinds of signals can be combined at a decision stage after the discrimination of stimulus properties has begun for each system.
Fournier
Lisa R
LR
Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-4820, USA. fournier@wsunix.wsu.edu
Patterson
Robert
R
Dyre
Brian P
BP
Wiediger
Matthew
M
Winters
Ryan
R
D003463:Cues; D003657:Decision Making; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D011930:Reaction Time