The time-course of masked negative priming.
Negative priming (NP) refers to the finding that reaction times and errors increase when a previously ignored prime distractor is presented as a target. In a variant of this task, the prime display is composed of only a single masked distractor that is followed by the simultaneous presentation of a target and a distractor in the probe display. In one experiment, we explore the time-course of masked NP using different variations of the prime-probe interval (short, medium, and long), and compare the results with time-course investigations of unmasked NP. We found clear evidence for a rapid-decay function of masked NP: With an increase in the prime-probe interval, masked NP decreased. This result is in line with the predictions of the temporal discrimination account and retrieval accounts of NP.
Frings
Christian
C
Saarland University, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Department of Psychology, Saarbrücken, Germany. c.frings@mx.uni-saarland.de
Eder
Andreas B
AB
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010470:Perceptual Masking / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012660:Semantics; D013360:Subliminal Stimulation; D013997:Time Factors; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology