| Abstract: | Three experiments tested predictions derived from 3 cognitive scanning hypotheses proposing respectively a left-to-right, ends-first, and peripheral-foveal order of scanning. In Exps I and II configurations of letters and/or digits were presented to 11 Ss around a central fixation point, and the stimulus was followed by a 1-sec presentation of a patterned mask or a blank white field. Backward masking selectively impaired the identification of stimuli in foveal positions whether or not these stimuli occupied middle-of-row positions. In Exp III 4 Ss made a manual same-different response to the presence or absence of a critical letter presented 3Deg. to the left or right of fixation. Noise letters appeared on either side or both sides of the critical letter. Identification response times were faster when the critical letter appeared in the left-most position in left field arrays and the right-most position in right field arrays. Principal conclusions drawn from the 3 experiments were: (a) Alphanumeric stimuli are scanned from the peripheral visual field inward towards fixation. (b) Any left-to-right scanning occurs relatively late in iconic processing. (c) An ends-first scanning strategy is a particular case of a more general peripheral-foveal strategy. (French summary) (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
