Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Visual marking inhibits singleton capture.

Christian N L Olivers1, Glyn W Humphreys

  • 1Behavioural Brain Science Centre, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. cnl.olivers@psy.vu.nl

Cognitive Psychology
|July 11, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Visual search is prioritized by suppressing irrelevant objects. Feature similarity between old and new items reduces search interference, supporting the visual marking theory.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Multitarget Visual Search Flexibly Switches Between Concurrent and Sequential Search Modes.

Psychological science·2026
Same author

Spatial Learning in Naturalistic Search With Simulated Vision Loss.

Translational vision science & technology·2026
Same author

Serial dependence is stronger for peripheral than for central vision.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2026
Same author

Eccentricity determines the competition for attention.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2025
Same author

Selective attention and eccentricity: A comprehensive review.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2025
Same author

Distinguishing a central selection bias from a central fixation bias: The role of retinal eccentricity in visual selection.

Vision research·2025

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Visual Perception
  • Attention

Background:

  • Prioritizing new objects in visual scenes is crucial for efficient information processing.
  • Understanding how the visual system selects relevant information amidst distractors is a key research area.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of distractor previews on visual search for new objects.
  • To examine how feature similarity between previewed and searched items influences search performance.
  • To test the visual marking hypothesis against alternative explanations for observed effects.

Main Methods:

  • Four experiments were conducted using visual search tasks.
  • Participants searched for a target in a second set of objects presented after an initial set of nontargets.
  • The presence and feature characteristics of a salient singleton (target or distractor) in the second set were manipulated, along with preview conditions.

Main Results:

  • Search was slowed by distractor singletons and facilitated by target singletons.
  • Both interference and facilitation effects were reduced when the preview shared features with the singleton.
  • This reduction was not attributable to low-level sensory factors, display heterogeneity, or color grouping.

Conclusions:

  • Inhibitory carry-over based on feature similarity modulates singleton effects in visual search.
  • The findings support the visual marking mechanism, where irrelevant objects are suppressed.
  • The results challenge explanations based on automatic capture by abrupt new onsets.

Related Experiment Videos