Initial stages of visual information processing

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

1. The Attentional Blink. Attentional limitations in vision are revealed the attentional blink (AB): When two visual targets are inserted in a stream of distractors displayed in rapid sequence, accuracy is nearly perfect for the first target (T1) but is dramatically reduced for the second (T2). Two basic facts about the AB are: (a) the processing of T2 is delayed while the system is busy processing T1, and (b) during the period of delay, T2 is vulnerable to masking by a trailing stimulus. If T2 is not masked, the delay of T2 processing still occurs, but the AB deficit is absent. Theories of the AB have accounted for (a) but not for (b). In the planned research, I will examine the proposition that, during the delay, a representation of T2 is stored in a labile memory buffer where it is vulnerable to masking and decay. I plan to use the AB deficit as a tool of convenience to study the characteristics of the labile memory buffer. The ultimate plan is to describe the characteristics of that memory buffer, and to examine its relationship to other short-term memory systems such as iconic memory and working memory.