Citation

Becic E, Kramer AF, Boot WR. Aging Neuropsychol. Cogn. 2007; 14(2): 109-125.

Affiliation

Beckman Institute and Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13825580701202167

PMID

17364375

Abstract

The effect of background layout on visual search performance, and more specifically on the tendency to refixate previously inspected locations and objects, was investigated. Older and younger adults performed a search task in which a background layout or landmark was present or absent in a gaze contingent visual search paradigm. Regardless of age, participants demonstrated fewer refixations when landmarks were present, with older adults showing a larger landmark advantage. This visual search advantage did not come at the cost of saccadic latency. Furthermore, the visual search performance advantage obtained in the presence of a background layout or landmark was observed both for individuals with small and large memory spans.

Language: en