title: Neither backward masking of T2 nor task switching is necessary for the attentional blink.
abstract: Identification of the second of two targets (T1, T2, inserted in a stream of distractors) is impaired when presented within 500 ms after the first (attentional blink, AB). Barring a T1-T2 task-switch, it is thought that T2 must be backward-masked to obtain an AB (Giesbrecht & Di Lollo, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 24, 1454-1466, 1998). We tested the hypothesis that Giesbrecht & Di Lollo's findings were vitiated by ceiling constraints arising from either response scale (experiment 1) or data limitations (experiment 2). In experiment 1, digit-distractors were replaced with pseudoletters to increase task difficulty, bringing performance below ceiling. An AB occurred without backward masking of T2. In experiment 2, a ceiling-free procedure estimated the number of noise dots needed for 80% T2 identification. An AB was revealed: fewer noise dots were required during the AB period than outside it. Both outcomes confirm that an AB can be obtained without either masking of T2 or task switching.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 1S6. ali_jannati@alumni.sfu.ca
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jannati
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Spalek
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Lollo
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D054518:Attentional Blink; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D012691:Serial Learning