The present study attempts to specify some of the conditions under which parallel and serial processing may occur. The three variables studied were (I) type of task, (2) relative set for speed vs accuracy, and (3) practice. Pairs of multidimensional, geometric stimuli were presented either simultaneously or successively to S who was required to indicate whether they were the same or different. Each S participated in nine sessions. For half of the Ss speed was emphasized, and for the other half accuracy was emphasized.. The results indicated that: (I) responses were faster with successive presentation than with simultaneous presentation; (2) with successive presentation, processing was serial; (3) in the simultaneous presentation condition, a gradual shift from serial to parallel processing occurred with practice; and (4) the speed and accuracy instructions used in this experiment produced no differential effects on latency or errors.Within the past few years, attention has been directed toward the mode of processing of information provided by complex stimuli. One of the questions of chief concern has been whether information about several dimensions is processed simultaneously (in parallel) or one dimension at a time (serially). In other words, an implicit assumption on which this research has been based is that human organisms are either serial processors or parallel processors. However, the present study is founded on the assumption that humans may be capable of performing in either of these modes (and, perhaps, others as well) and that the most profitable line of study is one which attempts to specify the conditions under which parallel and serial processing can occur. Previous ResearchFrom the research aimed at resolving the issue of serial vs parallel processing of multidimensional information, there have emerged several studies which provide evidence in support of serial processing (Briggs
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