PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Are subjects able to (at least partially) disregard stimulus dimensions that are irrelevant to a certain task? Do the conditions of such ignorance processes differ between color and form? These questions were tackled in three experiments using the paradigm of comparative visual search. The subjects' task was to compare two display halves that contain simple geometrical objects of three different colors and forms. The two halves were identical except for a single difference in the color or form of two corresponding objects. Reaction times and eye-tracking data were recorded in order to study the cognitive processes in comparative visual search. In Experiment 1, the subjects were not informed whether the target differed in color or form. Therefore, both stimulus dimensions had to be attended to. In Experiments 2 and 3, experimental conditions were manipulated in a way that allowed subjects to ignore the irrelevant dimension. Subjects were informed about the relevant dimension either ve...