hide
Free keywords:
-
Abstract:
We used a simple visuomotor task to explore retrospective and prospective aspects of search. Observers sequentially clicked through a series of target items (e.g., letters A–J), randomly distributed within a 12º 12° viewing
area. In Experiment 1, all target items were initially visible and we varied whether they remained visible or vanished after selection. Reaction time decreases, as a function of target position, were identical in both
conditions. In Experiment 2, we isolated the retrospective component.
Here, only one target item was initially present while the remaining locations contained distractor items. As each target was selected, the next target appeared, replacing one of the distractor items. Again, reaction time decreased roughly linearly in both vanish and remain conditions,
however, the efficiency of remain trials was substantially reduced compared with that of vanish trials. These findings suggest that both what you did and what you intend to do can influence search performance.
