Delayed onsets are not necessary for generating distractor quitting thresholds effects in visual search

Rebecca K. Lawrence; Karlien H.W. Paas; Brett A. Cochrane; Jay Pratt

doi:10.3758/s13414-023-02734-0

Delayed onsets are not necessary for generating distractor quitting thresholds effects in visual search

Rebecca K. Lawrence^* (Corresponding Author), Karlien H.W. Paas, Brett A. Cochrane, Jay Pratt

^*Corresponding author for this work

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Salient distractors lower quitting thresholds in visual search. That is, when searching for the presence of a target among filler items, a large heterogeneously coloured distractor presented at a delayed onset produces quick target-absent judgements and increased target-present errors. The aim of the current study was to explore if the timing of the salient distractor modulates this Quitting Threshold Effect (QTE). In Experiment 1, participants completed a target detection search task in the presence or absence of a salient singleton distractor that either appeared simultaneously with other search items or appeared at a delayed onset (i.e., 100 ms or 250 ms after other array items appeared). In Experiment 2, a similar method was used, except that the salient singleton distractor appeared simultaneously, 100 ms before, or 100 ms after the other array items. Across both experiments, we observed robust distractor QTEs. Regardless of their onset, salient distractors decreased target-absent search speeds and increased target-present error rates. In all, the present findings suggest that delayed onsets are not required for lowered quitting thresholds in visual search.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1811-1818
Number of pages	8
Journal	Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics
Volume	85
Issue number	6
Early online date	6 Jul 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-023-02734-0
Publication status	Published - Aug 2023

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgments
This research is supported by a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grant awarded to J.P (2016-06359).
Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions

Data Availability Statement

The data for the experiments are available on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/wmj8e/?view_only=922b156758cb4e299db4cb9a3e26c5fc). Materials will be made available on request. None of the experiments was preregistered.

Keywords

Attentional capture
Visual search
Humans
Attention
Reaction Time
Visual Perception
Judgment

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Cite this

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title = "Delayed onsets are not necessary for generating distractor quitting thresholds effects in visual search",

abstract = "Salient distractors lower quitting thresholds in visual search. That is, when searching for the presence of a target among filler items, a large heterogeneously coloured distractor presented at a delayed onset produces quick target-absent judgements and increased target-present errors. The aim of the current study was to explore if the timing of the salient distractor modulates this Quitting Threshold Effect (QTE). In Experiment 1, participants completed a target detection search task in the presence or absence of a salient singleton distractor that either appeared simultaneously with other search items or appeared at a delayed onset (i.e., 100 ms or 250 ms after other array items appeared). In Experiment 2, a similar method was used, except that the salient singleton distractor appeared simultaneously, 100 ms before, or 100 ms after the other array items. Across both experiments, we observed robust distractor QTEs. Regardless of their onset, salient distractors decreased target-absent search speeds and increased target-present error rates. In all, the present findings suggest that delayed onsets are not required for lowered quitting thresholds in visual search.",

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author = "Lawrence, {Rebecca K.} and Paas, {Karlien H.W.} and Cochrane, {Brett A.} and Jay Pratt",

note = "Acknowledgments This research is supported by a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grant awarded to J.P (2016-06359). Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions ",

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N2 - Salient distractors lower quitting thresholds in visual search. That is, when searching for the presence of a target among filler items, a large heterogeneously coloured distractor presented at a delayed onset produces quick target-absent judgements and increased target-present errors. The aim of the current study was to explore if the timing of the salient distractor modulates this Quitting Threshold Effect (QTE). In Experiment 1, participants completed a target detection search task in the presence or absence of a salient singleton distractor that either appeared simultaneously with other search items or appeared at a delayed onset (i.e., 100 ms or 250 ms after other array items appeared). In Experiment 2, a similar method was used, except that the salient singleton distractor appeared simultaneously, 100 ms before, or 100 ms after the other array items. Across both experiments, we observed robust distractor QTEs. Regardless of their onset, salient distractors decreased target-absent search speeds and increased target-present error rates. In all, the present findings suggest that delayed onsets are not required for lowered quitting thresholds in visual search.

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Delayed onsets are not necessary for generating distractor quitting thresholds effects in visual search

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

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