In search of remembrance: evidence for memory in visual search

Psychol Sci. 2000 Jul;11(4):328-32. doi: 10.1111/1467-9280.00265.

Abstract

Observers searched for a target among distractors while the display items traded places every 110 ms. Search was slower when the target was always relocated to a position previously occupied by a distractor than when the items remained in place, showing the importance of memory for locations in a visual search task. Experiment 2 repeated a previous study in which items could move to any location within the display, but used a larger range of set sizes than tested in the earlier study. A cost in search times to relocating items was found at the larger set sizes, most likely reflecting that the probability that the target would replace a distractor increased with the set size. The findings provide strong evidence for the role of memory for locations within trials in a visual search task.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attention*
  • Humans
  • Mental Recall
  • Orientation*
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual*
  • Reaction Time
  • Retention, Psychology*