| Abstract: | In an alphanumeric display, a spatially remote, temporally trailing probe interfered with identification of the contents of a multi-element, temporally leading target array. In the 1st of 3 experiments, perceptual interference diminished in 5 undergraduates with increasing stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) between target and probe, but the effect was still evident at an SOA of 1,000 msec. In the 2nd experiment, the strength and duration of the effect increased in 5 undergraduates with the number of items in the target array; the effect was more pronounced if probe and target letters were displayed in different cases. The 3rd experiment, with the same Ss as in Exp II, suggested that the locus of interference is probably at a postcategorical stage of processing. It is concluded that perceptual interference is a central phenomenon that requires attentional processes and differs in crucial respects from backward masking by superimposition of patterns. (French abstract) (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
