PsycNET®

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. Vol 16(2), May 1990, 332-350.

Attentional limits on perception and memory were measured by the decline in performance with increasing numbers of objects in a display. Multiple objects were presented to Ss who discriminated visual attributes. In a representative condition, 4 lines were briefly presented followed by a single line in 1 of the same locations. Ss were required to judge if the single line in the 2nd display was longer or shorter than the line in the corresponding location of the 1st display. The length difference threshold was calculated as a function of the number of objects. The difference thresholds doubled when the number of objects was increased from 1 to 4. This effect was generalized in several ways, and nonattentional explanations were ruled out. Further analyses showed that the attentional processes must share information from at least 4 objects and can be described by a simple model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

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