Citation

Reynolds A, Miller J. Q. J. Exp. Psychol. (2006) 2007; 60(6): 837-859.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, SAGE Publications)

DOI

10.1080/17470210600822563

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In three visual search experiments participants were asked to make a target response if either of two targets was present and to make a nontarget response if neither target was present. Some target-absent displays included only nontarget features that never occurred in the same displays as target features, whereas other target-absent displays included nontarget features that did sometimes occur with target features. Nontarget responses were reliably faster in the former case than in the latter. This "associated nontargets effect" appears to arise from participants' ability to learn and to use contingencies between the presence of certain nontargets and the absence of any target.

Language: en