Visual marking survives graphical change if meaning is retained

Abstract

When some distractors (old items) appear before others (new items) in an inefficient visual search task, the old items are excluded from the search (visual marking). Previous studies have shown that shape changes of static old items are sufficient to eliminate this effect when global luminance is maintained, suggesting that shape identity must be maintained for successful visual marking. It was unclear whether the change in meaning or shape was critical, because these changes were confounded in previous studies. The present study examined whether consistency in the semantic or the graphical identity of old items is critical for visual marking by introducing shape change in the absence of meaning change. The results indicated that visual marking survived graphical changes in old items as long as their meaning was maintained, suggesting that the memory template underlying visual marking represents the semantic identity of old items.

Perceptual grouping constrains inhibition in time-based visual selection

“…In Experiment 4, search efficiency in the preview condition did not differ from that in the FEB at any display size, indicating that inhibition at the small display sizes was destroyed when the pacmen rotated. This is consistent with the idea that inhibition was applied to the perceptually grouped stimuli and that when their local elements rotated the inhibition was abolished because a perceptually new object identity emerged (Osugi et al, 2010;. Thus, once grouped, the identity of the object as a whole appears to be vital for maintaining an inhibitory template.…”

“…Previous research has shown that changes to the identity of previewed items can disrupt the preview benefit, whereas changes to surface properties, such as stimulus color or luminance, do not , 2005Watson et al, 2008). Furthermore, Osugi, Kumada, and Kawahara, (2010) showed that even quite large local luminance and shape changes did not abolish the preview benefit provided that the semantic meaning of the items remained the same. Thus, if inhibition is applied to a single representation formed by the spatially grouped elements, local rotation might abolish the preview benefit because the identity of the object would change .…”

“…This is based in part on the finding that the preview benefit is abolished when stimuli are isoluminant with their background and do not therefore generate abrupt luminance signals (e.g., Donk & Theeuwes, 2001 but see also Braithwaite, Hulleman, Watson, & Humphreys, 2006;von Mühlenen, Watson, & Gunnell, 2013). In contrast, a role for a limited capacity inhibitory mechanism comes from: (1) Findings evidencing inefficient search in preview conditions when performing a dual-task (Watson & Humphreys, 1997;Humphreys et al, 2002) and during the attentional blink (Olivers & Humphreys, 2002); (2) Experiments in which detecting a probe-dot is more difficult if it falls at the location of an old item compared with falling at the location of a new item (Watson & Humphreys, 2000;Humphreys, Stalmann, & Olivers, 2004;Osugi, Kumada, & Kawahara, 2009; but see also Agter & Donk, 2005); 3Results showing that location or feature-based changes to old items can destroy the preview benefit (Watson & Humphreys, 1997;Zupan, Watson, & Blagrove, 2015) unless the semantic meaning of the objects are maintained (Osugi, Kumada, & Kawahara, 2010), 4) Evidence for the carry-over of feature-based inhibition from old items to new items that share a common property (Braithwaite, Humphreys, & Hodsoll, 2003, 2004Andrews et al, 2011; see also Donk, 2017), and 5) the finding of flexible modulation of time-based visual selection when it is inconsistent with the goal state (Watson & Humphreys, 2000) or when contextual factors, such as the presence of highly salient targets, do not require it (Zupan et al, 2015). The most likely position is that the active inhibition of old stimuli helps to amplify the signals associated with bottom-up mechanisms related to the appearance of new items.…”

Onset of background dynamic noise attenuates preview benefit in inefficient visual search

“…Furthermore, recent studies suggest that the preview benefit remains even when the shape of old items changes, provided that these changes involve either eye blink (Irwin & Humphreys, 2013;von Mühlenen, Watson, & Gunnell, 2013), occlusion (Kunar et al, 2003), or transient masking (Watson & Kunar, 2010). Osugi, Kumada, and Kawahara (2010) demonstrated that preview benefits persist during shape changes if semantic information pertaining to the items is retained. Taken together, this literature points toward a role for top-down processing in the maintenance of preview benefits, despite the presence of disruptive, bottom-up signals (see also Osugi & Kawahara, 2012).…”

Inhibition in time-based visual selection: Strategic or by default?

“…Lastly, this account cannot explain the effect of semantic consistency when visual changes to old items occur (Osugi, Kumada, & Kawahara, 2010), the finding that a preview effect occurs when new items are presented during a blink (von Mühlenen, Watson, & Gunnell 2013), or why the detection of new items, carrying the features of old items, is impaired (i.e., the color carry-over effect; Olivers & Humphreys, 2003;Braithwaite, Humphreys, & Hodsoll, 2003, particularly with moving stimuli (Andrews, Watson, Humphreys, & Braithwaite, 2011).…”