Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
Published on: January 23, 2017
Visual attention and the mechanism of metacontrast
Odmar Neumann1, Ingrid Scharlau
1Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, P.O. Box 10 01 31, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany. odmar.neumann@uni-bielefeld.de
Abstract:
The U-shaped metacontrast function may result from the superimposition of two monotonic components which reflect the effects of mechanisms similar to the peripheral and central processes suggested for backward pattern masking by Turvey (Psychol Rev 80:1-52, 1973). In an experiment using the disc-ring paradigm, it was demonstrated that the decreasing and increasing branches of the metacontrast function are differently affected by the exposure duration of the mask and a task-irrelevant stimulus (distractor) appearing in the contralateral visual hemifield. The phenomenal representation of masking is different for the two parts of the curve. It is suggested that masking in the second part of the masking function, but not in the first, is related to the control of visual attention.
More Related Videos
06:46Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity
Published on: March 18, 2019
07:12A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
Published on: April 11, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Color Vision
Vision
Anatomy of the Eyeball
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
Parallel Processing
Gestalt Principles of Perception