18th Annual Student Research Conference
Social Science
The Attentional Blink
Emily R. Holekamp*, Jonathan Thacker, Cynthia L. Wooldridge, and Mark Smith
Dr. Robert Tigner, Faculty Mentor
The present study examines the Attentional Blink (AB) phenomenon. The AB refers to a deficit in identifying the second of two targets when presented among distracters at a very rapid rate (usually 10 items per second). Most prior studies have found the AB to be maximal when the second target appears 200-400msec after the first. Our research identifies exceptions to this pattern. In the present study participants viewed streams of letters presented at a rate of 10/sec. In each trial participants identified two target letters that were presented in a distinct color and reported whether or not an X appeared in each trial (p = .5). Contrary to previous research, Ss were excellent at identifying the second distinct target even though it appeared during the AB window. The AB was found, however, when detecting the X. Implications of these results for current AB theories will be discussed.
Keywords: Attentional Blink
Topic(s):Psychology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 12-1
Location: VH 1232
Time: 8:30