Abstract
The latency of reading a single word is increased by 20 to 40 msec if another object is present in the display. The delay is affected by the spatial organization of the display: a colored frame causes less delay when it surrounds the word than when it is shown on the opposite side of fixation. A small gap in the frame is also more efficiently detected as a secondary task when the frame is around the word than when the two are spatially separate. The advantage of integrated over separate presentation suggests that a “filtering cost” is incurred when two distinct perceptual objects compete for attention. Attention in filtering tasks operates on perceptually distinct objects rather than on nodes in a semantic network.
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This research was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
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Treisman, A., Kahneman, D. & Burkell, J. Perceptual objects and the cost of filtering. Perception & Psychophysics 33, 527–532 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202934
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202934