| Abstract: | Advance information about a target's identity improved visual search efficiency in pigeons. Experiments 1 and 2 compared information supplied by visual cues with information supplied by trial sequences. Reaction times (RTs) were lower when visual cues signaled a single target rather than two. RTs were lower (Experiment 1) or accuracy improved (Experiment 2) when a sequence of trials presented a single target rather than a mixture of 2. Experiments 3, 4, and 5 considered the selectivity of visual priming by introducing probe trials that reversed the usual cue–target relationship. RT was higher following such miscues than following the usual 1- or 2-target cuing relationships (Experiment 3); the miscuing effect persisted over variations in the target's concealment (Experiments 4 and 5), but did not occur when the target was presented alone (Experiment 4). Findings indicate that priming modifies an attentional mechanism and suggest that this effect accounts for search images. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
