Selective attention and visual search: Revision of an allocation model and application to age differences.

Examined in 3 experiments a revised version of the Eriksen and Yeh (C. W. Eriksen and Y.-Y. Yeh, 1985) model of attentional allocation during visual search. Results confirmed the assumption of the model that performance represents a weighted combination of focused- and distributed-attention trials, although Ss relied on focused attention more than was predicted. Consistent with the model, predictions on the basis of the assumption of a terminating search fit the data better than predictions on the basis of an exhaustive search. The effects of varying cue validity favored an interpretation of focused attention in terms of a processing gradient rather than a zoom lens. Although the allocation of attention across trials was similar for young and older adults, there was an age-related increase in the time required to allocate attention within individual trials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)