Detectability and choice during visual search: joint effects of sequential priming and discriminability

Blough, Patricia M. · 1992 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/bf03213383

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Summary

This study investigates the joint effects of sequential priming (expectancy) and stimulus discriminability on visual search performance in pigeons. The research addresses a debate in foraging literature regarding how animals select targets when multiple options are present. Specifically, it tests whether the "search-image" phenomenon—where abundant prey are selected more frequently—is driven by attentional interference (top-down processes) or by adjustments in search speed based on prey concealment (bottom-up processes). The authors aim to determine if detection and choice are modified jointly by priming-induced expectancies and stimulus-driven perceptual processes, challenging the view that abundance alone dictates search strategy. The experiment utilized six pigeons trained to peck symbolic targets (a heart, a backslash, and the letter B) amidst heterogeneous distractors on a video monitor. The study comprised three phases. Phase 1 established differential discriminabilities for the three target symbols by varying display size (12, 24, or 36 items); results confirmed that the heart was most discriminable, followed by the backslash, with the letter B being the least discriminable. Phase 2 manipulated target probability by presenting a "main" target in long sequences (high frequency) and an alternate target as a rare probe (low frequency). Reaction time (RT) and accuracy were measured. Phase 3 introduced choice trials where two targets appeared simultaneously, allowing the researchers to assess selection preferences when targets differed in both frequency and discriminability. Results from Phase 2 demonstrated that RT was significantly lower for targets that were both more discriminable and more frequent. Crucially, these frequency effects did not depend on the discriminability of the less frequent targets, contradicting predictions that abundant, cryptic targets would impair the detection of salient alternatives. In Phase 3, pigeons were more likely to choose the more frequent target only if it was also the most discriminable. When the frequent target was less discriminable than the infrequent one, choice did not significantly deviate from chance, or the more discriminable (but infrequent) target was selected. RT data further showed that detection speed was influenced by both factors, with no significant interaction between frequency and discriminability. The findings indicate that visual search performance is governed by the interaction of top-down expectancy and bottom-up stimulus salience. The data are inconsistent with Guilford and Dawkins’ (1987) search-rate hypothesis, which predicts that abundance affects detection only through its impact on search speed relative to target concealment. Instead, the results support attentional models where priming and stimulus-driven processes compete. The study concludes that while sequential priming enhances detection of frequent targets, it does not completely block the detection of salient alternatives, suggesting that stimulus-driven effects contribute in a graded fashion to visual search and choice.

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Topics

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• visual search
• signal detection theory