2010/01/01 by Barbara Anne Dosher, Songmei Han, Zhong‐Lin Lu · 1 citation
Neuroscience · Computer Science · #Visual perception and processing mechanisms #Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies #Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
paper · doi:10.1037/a0020366
openalex publication_date 2010/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/24
Difficult visual search is often attributed to time-limited serial attention operations, although neural computations in the early visual system are parallel. Using probabilistic search models (Dosher, Han, & Lu, 2004) and a full time-course analysis of the dynamics of covert visual search, we distinguish unlimited capacity parallel versus serial search mechanisms. Performance is measured for difficult and error-prone searches among heterogeneous background elements and for easy and accurate searches among homogeneous background elements. Contrary to the claims of time-limited serial attention, searches in heterogeneous backgrounds instead exhibited nearly identical search dynamics for display sizes up to 12 items. A review and new analyses indicate that most difficult as well as easy visual searches operate as an unlimited-capacity parallel analysis over the visual field within a single eye fixation, which suggests limitations in the availability of information, not temporal bottlenecks in analysis or comparison. Serial properties likely reflect overt attention expressed in eye movements.